Real Madrid striker Carlos Espi talked about his role at the club and what Jose Mourinho asks him to do whenever he comes on the pitch. So far, Espi has been a brilliant signing. Real Madrid have needed him in close games, and he's always delivered to the best of his abilities.
He has yet to start a single game for Real Madrid, but he already has two goals and another disallowed one against Real Betis. It just goes to show how little time he needs to create a huge impact on the result.
Espi was asked about his role at the club and what he talks about with Mourinho before coming on.
He said: “Mourinho always tells me to give it my all, whether it’s 5, 10, or 15 minutes, to leave everything out there. He tells me to help Kylian, who is playing alongside me, and for us to complement each other up front.
“He wants me in the box, because the ball could fall to me at any moment.”
Carlos Espi is quietly brilliant at what he does
All of the things that Espi mentioned, you can actually see them on the pitch. It is really important for him to be in the box and attack every single ball that comes into it because he's the only one who can do that in the attack.
Obviously, Jude Bellingham provides lots of that whenever he is in the box, but many times he is not there, and Real Madrid need a natural number nine to provide goals for them.
Espi is able to do that because he is very tall and is able to get at the end of most crosses. He is also a very physical striker who uses his body to bring the ball down and help his teammates get involved in the game. There have been moments where Espi and Mbappe have linked up really well together on the pitch, one of which also resulted in a goal, and hopefully that continues over the course of the season.
We all know Kylian Mbappe can play really well off a striker, and when Espi is playing, it just looks more natural because it seems like they have some good synergy on the pitch together. It just does not seem like they have only been working together for a month or so because of some of the actions that they've shown on the pitch.
Obviously, it is not anything outlandish. It's what you expect from a striker and a player who plays off a striker, but so far, it has been really good, and hopefully it continues for the rest of the season.
It just does not make sense reading all of this and then thinking about how Mourinho had the chance to do the same against Atletico Madrid but chose not to. Obviously, he was limited with his substitutions because of the red card to Dean Huijsen, but even then, Espi should have been one of the first names on the bench because of what he provides to the team.
If he was there, it would have been a bit different because then Real Madrid players would have an outlet to ping balls to, and after the first goal, there could easily have been a second if a presence like the Spaniard was in the box.
Regardless, that game is over, and no one can do anything about it, but hopefully this is a lesson for Mourinho to always bring on Espi when it matters most, because everyone knows by now that more often than not, he will deliver.
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