A debut away from the Santiago Bernabéu

Real Madrid’s first league match will be on Saturday, August 22 against RCD Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona.

The Matchday 2 clash in the 2026-27 LaLiga EA Sports season will kick off at 9:30 PM local time in Spain.

It will also be José Mourinho’s first official match in this new spell as Real Madrid head coach, after completing the team’s preseason preparations. The Portuguese manager signed a contract with the club through June 2029.

Why didn’t Madrid play on Matchday 1?

The original schedule had Real Madrid facing Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabéu on Matchday 1, but that fixture was postponed.

LaLiga rescheduled the match for Wednesday, August 26 at 9:00 PM local time in Spain, because several Real Madrid players were still competing at the World Cup and needed additional time before beginning domestic competition.

A week that will put Madrid to the test

Just four days later, they will host Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabéu, while on Sunday, August 30, they will be at home again, this time against Málaga on Matchday 3.

Mourinho’s side will therefore face three LaLiga matches in just nine days, a demanding start for a project entering a new era on the bench.

The first step in a new title race

The match against Espanyol will officially mark the start of Real Madrid’s league season, in a campaign in which Los Blancos will look to remain in contention for one of the biggest trophies in Spanish football.

After several weeks of preparation, friendlies and squad changes, the time to start competing for points is finally approaching.