José Mourinho's second spell in charge of Real Madrid got off to a winning start, thanks to new signing Carlos Espí's 90th-minute goal to claim a 2-1 victory at Espanyol.
The Portuguese coach, taking charge of Madrid for the first time in 13 years after being reappointed for a second time this summer, looked set to endure a frustrating start to the LaLiga season.
After England midfielder Jude Bellingham headed Madrid into a ninth-minute lead in Barcelona, Cala put the hosts level on the half-hour mark.
But as the clock ticked toward stoppage time, Espí pounced after Kylian Mbappé had been knocked off the ball and fired past Marko Dmitrovic to get his first Madrid goal just 10 minutes after entering the game as a substitute.
The 21-year-old Espí was one of the standouts of LaLiga last season and Madrid reportedly paid Levante €25 million ($28 million) for him. Saturday's goal was his 11th in LaLiga since Feb. 27, the most by any player in the league in that span.
Mourinho also handed starting debuts to Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries and Bernardo Silva -- the first time Madrid have started three debutantes in their opening LaLiga game since 2009, when Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema made their bows.
Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, who joined Madrid from RB Leipzig as the club's biggest summer signing for an initial €125 million ($146m) fee, made his debut as a second-half replacement for Arda Güler in the 64th minute.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
