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.

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.

Vinícius Júnior has set up one goal and scored another as Real Madrid topped a tenacious Espanyol 4-1 in the Spanish league.