Carlo Ancelotti rested first-choice players, such as Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy and Vinicius Junior, and Madrid struggled for fluency. Espanyol even took the lead in the 54th minute with an own goal from Thibaut Courtois, who miscued a seemingly harmless shot into his net.

Real Madrid will look to extend its La Liga unbeaten streak to 38 games as the reigning Spanish champions take on Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid’s return to domestic action comes just four days after a late-game comeback against Stuttgart in its Champions League opening fixture.

Vinicius Jr came off the bench to score once and set up another goal to steer champions Real Madrid to a 4-1 fightback victory over Espanyol in LaLiga on Saturday.