José Mourinho’s second stint as Real Madrid boss began on Tuesday behind closed doors, with a training-ground friendly against Leganés that marked the first match of his return. It was not a full-strength unveiling. Fringe roster members and youth players made up Real Madrid’s side, a reminder that the club’s new phase was starting before the squad itself had fully taken shape.
The timing is what gives Real Madrid Vs Leganés its pull. Mourinho was back on the touchline while Real Madrid were trying to move on from a rare trophy-less season and another year of being comfortably second-best to Barcelona in La Liga, with the Champions League ending in the quarterfinals. Florentino Pérez had clearly chosen familiarity, and the club’s new look was still incomplete because some arrivals were tied up with World Cup commitments.
Leganés were a useful opponent for a first step, even in a match played out of public view. They had already been on the pitch three times that summer before the Segunda was due to begin on August 16, and they arrived with Rubén Albés in charge for 2026–27 after missing an immediate return to the top flight and finishing 16th last term. That made the gap between the two sides plain enough before a ball was kicked.
It was also a fixture that carried the weight of recent history. Real Madrid had won 11 of the previous 15 meetings with Leganés and, over the past decade, had only ever lost to them in the Copa del Rey. So even with the result framed by preseason conditions and a rotated squad, the outline was familiar: one club using a small, closed-door friendly to begin a new chapter, the other testing itself against a standard it has rarely matched.
What matters next is whether the version of Real Madrid Mourinho will actually use starts to emerge by August 22, when the La Liga campaign is due to open. Tuesday offered the first glimpse, but not the finished picture, and that is the part supporters will be watching for now.
