With Jose Mourinho’s arrival, Real Madrid have spent the summer adding size and physical strength to their squad, but it was Carlos Espi, the least heralded of their six new arrivals who made the decisive contribution in their opening La Liga game.
Espi came off the bench with 11 minutes remaining and scored the winner in the 2-1 victory over Espanyol, continuing a strong start to life at the club.
The 21-year-old had scored twice in pre-season, more than any other Madrid player, and needed only a few minutes at the RCDE Stadium to show why his presence could give Jose Mourinho another attacking option.
Espi is 6ft 4in and was signed for €25m around the same time Gonzalo Garcia left for Fulham in a €40m deal. The low figure spent on Espi in exchange for the higher figure banked for selling Garcia suggests the deal may have been largely financially motivated, but in part it may have also been because the club wanted a different profile rather than simply another replacement for Garcia.
His physical profile sets him apart from Madrid’s other forwards. Yet his winner against Espanyol did not come from a cross or a set piece. He showed good balance and control in the penalty area, reacted first to a loose ball, rounded the goalkeeper and finished calmly.
The goal showed the particular quality Espi can offer when Madrid need to change the nature of a game. A tall centre-forward can give the team another way to attack when a defence is under a lot of pressure, creating a target and occupying central defenders even when the ball is played along the ground.
Thibaut Courtois said the striker’s physical presence had already stood out in training. “Carlos Espi is a beast,” the goalkeeper said, adding that facing him alongside defenders such as Ibrahima Konate and Antonio Rudiger had been impressive. Courtois also compared him with Joselu, the former Madrid striker whose aerial threat provided a different option for the team.
Espi is an additional member in a group of players with large physical profiles that Madrid are building. Denzel Dumfries, Dean Huijsen, Konate and Jude Bellingham all give the side considerable physical strength, but with his role in attack Espi may be the unexpected player who offers the most with his build come the end of the season.
There were less encouraging signs elsewhere in Madrid’s attack against Espanyol. Yan Diomande struggled to influence the game from the right wing. There were also ominous signs as the team became increasingly stretched defensively after their three most dangerous forwards were on the pitch.
It is an issue Mourinho, a manager well known for his emphasis on defence, will have to address. Madrid may have even better individual quality to decide matches now with the arrival of Diomande, but their attacking stars still have to contribute without the ball if the team is to maintain its structure over 90 minutes.
It makes for an interesting, developing subplot, however, that with the clock ticking down at the RCDE Stadium, it wasn’t the big hitters but the low-cost centre-forward who found the breakthrough.
