Real Madrid were not at their best in Jose Mourinho's first game upon his return, but they were still able to fight hard and prevail in the end, taking the full three points on the road against a tough Espanyol side that were indeed at their best to start the 2026/27 La Liga season.
One of the most positive developments of the match that did not go unnoticed by the die hard Madridistas, even if the mainstream media were clueless, was the performance of star center back Ibrahima Konate in his Real Madrid debut.
Konate and Dean Huijsen looked like an amazing unit together at the back end of the defense, covering ground and pairing well, with Huijsen covering and Konate coming up to win the ball and constantly put Espanyol attacking players under duress.
Ibrahima Konate is solving a huge problem for Real Madrid
Real Madrid were interested in Konate throughout the last summer transfer window and at the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign, though the ongoing negotiations with Liverpool made his status unclear. And he was not a universally popular option for the Madrid faithful, as some felt that his poor performances and lack of focus on Liverpool did not bode well for him translating into a success at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But as it turned out, Ibrahima Konate was too good of a free agent to pass upon, and with the recruitment help of his French national teammates on Real Madrid, the former RB Leipzig center back joined Madrid, with Jose Mourinho green lighting him. And given Real Madrid did not end up signing another top center back that Mou wanted, Konate's addition has become even more important to a team that was begging for more center back help even two years ago when Carlo Ancelotti last won the Champions League for Real.
Dean Huijsen did come to the team last summer after a great breakout season for Bournemouth, but he was not ready yet for the responsibilities. More importantly, he was hurt by the players pairing with him, as Antonio Rudiger was not a good fit and Raul Asencio was even worse, clearly not the caliber of player who can ever start for Real Madrid.
Now, not by magic, Huijsen looks amazing next to Konate, who has brought the physicality, intelligence, exprience, and quality in the tackle while shadowing dribblers perfectly. All of these are traits that Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho were on their knees for.
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