Jose Mourinho has wasted no time putting his stamp on his return to Real Madrid.
The Portuguese manager began his second spell at the club with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Espanyol, but the result was not the only talking point after the final whistle.
Mourinho turned his attention to Vinicius Junior, claiming the Real Madrid forward is being subjected to repeated physical treatment from opposition players.
The Brazilian endured several heavy challenges during the match and was involved in a first-half confrontation with Espanyol forward Alex Calatrava, with both players receiving yellow cards.
Espanyol midfielder Edu Exposito was also booked after a second-half foul on Vinicius.
Mourinho acknowledged that Vinicius is not without fault, but believes the treatment he receives from opponents has crossed the line.
“I run the risk of you going back months to dig up my words from when I was Vini’s opponent, but now Vini is on my team,” said Mourinho. “He’s no saint, but what they’re doing to him is too much. From the very first minute, it’s as if there’s already a pattern.
“Now I’ll foul him, now you’ll foul him, one player gets a yellow card, another comes in without one.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for him, he must have a lot of mental control. I’ve even told him that if he scores, he should be careful how he celebrates.
“We’re in a social era of anti-bullying, but with Vini, we’re still in the era of bullying.”
The comments underline Mourinho’s willingness to protect one of his most important attacking players from the outset of his new tenure.
Real Madrid did not have everything their own way.
Jude Bellingham gave the hosts an early advantage with a header, but Espanyol responded before half-time through Calatrava.
The Blancos continued to push after the interval and created several opportunities, with Federico Valverde seeing a long-range effort strike the post.
Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic also produced an impressive display to keep his side in contention.
The breakthrough eventually arrived in stoppage time.
Substitute Carlos Espi marked his Real Madrid debut in spectacular fashion by scoring the late winner and sparking celebrations.
Although Mourinho believed Real deserved the victory, he was quick to acknowledge the quality of Espanyol’s performance.
The gaffer added: “I think we deserved to win, but Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose.
“In the second half, we maintained great control and applied a lot of pressure; we took a lot of risks. We deserved to win.
“But a team that plays like Espanyol, that defends like that and counter-attacks like that, with players pushing themselves to the limit and good organisation, it’ll be tough for them to go home empty-handed. But we deserved it.”
Thirteen years after his first Real Madrid spell ended, Mourinho has returned with a victory — but the opening game already offered a glimpse of the battles ahead.
Real showed attacking intent, Espanyol made them work for every opening and Vinicius found himself at the centre of another physical contest.
For Mourinho, however, the bigger message is clear.
He believes his star forward needs protection — and he appears ready to make that case publicly.
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