Vinícius Aims to Extend Dominance Against Espanyol as Madrid Kick Off LaLiga
Real Madrid arrive late to their own LaLiga party. With their opening fixture against Real Sociedad postponed, the season truly starts for them on Saturday evening at the RCDE Stadium – and few players stride into it with more swagger than Vinícius Júnior.
He knows this ground. He knows this opponent. And they know him all too well.
Vinícius, Espanyol’s recurring nightmare
Opta numbers tell the story before a ball is kicked. Vinícius has scored 5 goals in 11 LaLiga games against Espanyol, 3 of them on Espanyol turf. No other side in the competition has conceded more away goals to the Brazilian. For a player who thrives on rhythm and repetition, this fixture fits him perfectly.
He has also scored 3 goals at three other stadiums in LaLiga, but the RCDE feels like one of “his” stages now. The runs from the left, the cut inside, the finish. Espanyol have seen the pattern before; stopping it is another matter.
Madrid will lean on that familiarity. With no league minutes in their legs yet, they walk into a second round that feels like a curtain-raiser, and Vinícius’ personal record against the Catalan club offers Carlo Ancelotti’s side a ready-made reference point.
Roberto Fernández hits form at the right time
Espanyol, though, do not come into this quietly.
Roberto Fernández has finally found his scoring touch in LaLiga. The striker has 3 goals in his last two league matches – already one more than he managed in his previous 22 appearances in the competition. Among those strikes sits his second LaLiga brace, delivered in the last round against Levante.
For a forward, that kind of burst changes everything. Confidence, timing, movement – all sharpened. If Espanyol are to disrupt Madrid’s delayed start to the season, Roberto’s form offers them a clear route: test a defence still searching for its early-season bearings.
Mourinho’s perfect record, González’s problem fixture
History on the touchline also leans heavily towards Madrid.
José Mourinho, during his first spell at the Bernabéu, never lost to Espanyol in LaLiga. Six matches, zero defeats: 4 wins, 2 draws. Against no other opponent in the competition has he stayed unbeaten across as many games, though he also reached six matches without defeat against five other sides.
On the opposite bench, the numbers bite harder. Manolo González has faced Real Madrid four times in LaLiga and lost three of them, managing just a single victory. Only Barcelona and Villarreal have beaten him more often in the competition, with 4 defeats each. Real Betis, like Madrid, have also put three losses on his record.
Those statistics don’t decide a match, but they do frame it. For González, Madrid are part of an uncomfortable group of opponents that repeatedly expose the limits of his teams. For the visitors, that history adds another layer of quiet assurance.
A familiar script – or a new twist?
So the stage is set.
Vinícius walks into a stadium he enjoys, hunting a defence he has already punished. Roberto Fernández arrives in the form of his LaLiga life, trying to turn a hot streak into something more permanent. Mourinho’s old unbeaten run against Espanyol still hangs in the background as a reminder of Madrid’s historical dominance, while González fights to rewrite a personal record that keeps dragging him down.
Madrid’s season finally starts. The question is simple: does this night follow the numbers, or does Espanyol tear up the script?
