Real Madrid once again showed a considerable lack of creativity in their attacking play, leaving their fans concerned about coach Xabi Alonso's ability to turn one of the best squads in the world into a truly star-studded team. Despite this, their clinical finishing was enough to secure a 2-0 victory over a competitive Espanyol side at the Santiago Bernabéu.
As expected since the start of the match previews, Real Madrid dominated possession from the opening whistle, but found it very difficult to translate their attacking volume into real scoring chances throughout the first half. There were many slow passes exchanged between the defenders and midfielders, with difficulty in getting the ball to Gonzalo García, the offensive reference in the lineup.
This forced Real Madrid to look for other alternatives, one of which was shots from outside the box, with Éder Militão scoring a decisive goal when he found space and fired into the corner of Marko Dmitrovic's goal, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance of saving it. At a disadvantage, Espanyol was unable to show the strength to react before halftime.
Real Madrid found calmness shortly after the break
In the second half, Real Madrid had a more comfortable game, needing only one move to extend their lead and give the fans at the Bernabeu some peace of mind. In the first minute, Vinícius Júnior (who started on the bench for the Champions League) burst forward with tremendous power down the left and passed into the middle for Kylian Mbappé to slot past Dimitrovic, reminiscent of a highly successful partnership last season.
Espanyol had to abandon their defensive stance and look for offensive alternatives to reduce the deficit. On the other hand, this strategy ended up leaving the midfield less congested, giving Real more space to attack. Mastantuono and Vini Júnior came close to turning the victory into a rout, but it was not enough to change the score.