Jose Mourinho stands on the Real Madrid touchline again, years after the ending nobody in the Bernabeu wanted to remember, and his first opponent back is Espanyol on the road. That alone would be a story. But this is also Kylian Mbappe's first competitive match since lifting the World Cup Golden Boot, stepping into a Mourinho side for the first time as a champion instead of a hopeful.
Everything about this fixture on paper favors Madrid. Espanyol are the sort of team a superclub is supposed to handle on opening weekend, and the market has Madrid as clear favorites to do just that. But Mourinho openers have never been simple coronations. He likes control before he likes fireworks, and a Mbappe still finding his footing in a new system against a well organized home side is exactly the kind of afternoon that turns tidy on the touchline and messy on the scoreboard.
So the storylines are set. The number is the only thing left. Does Mourinho's Madrid, with Mbappe leading the line, cover -1.5 against Espanyol, or does Espanyol make them sweat for it?