Real Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday night, with Kylian Mbappé and Federico Valverde both capitalising on defensive blunders to give José Mourinho a winning start to his Champions League return — 16 years after he lifted the trophy at the same ground with Inter in the 2010 final.
Madrid led inside 14 minutes when a sloppy Curtis Jones pass put centre-back Yann Bisseck in trouble. Brahim Díaz pounced on the loose ball and played Mbappé in; Bisseck failed to intervene and the Frenchman rolled the ball home. It was Madrid's first shot on goal; at that stage they had managed just 29 per cent possession.
The second arrived before the half-hour when Josep Martínez, Inter's goalkeeper, attempted a back-heel inside his own six-yard box while Valverde pressed him. The Uruguayan got his foot to the ball and touched it over the line to make it 2-0. Madrid had still managed only two shots in total, yet they found themselves in complete control. Inter, by that point, led 12-3 in attempts, held 70 per cent possession and had completed 125 final-third passes to Madrid's 13.
Valverde was later named the game's MVP but said the award belonged to Thibaut Courtois. "He saved us," Valverde told Movistar. Courtois drew seven saves across the 90 minutes, turning away efforts from Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martínez and Hakan Calhanoglu among others, before making one final stop from a deflected Henrikh Mkhitaryan effort late on.
Carlos Augusto pulled one back in the 77th minute from a Lautaro Martínez cutback, altering the atmosphere inside the ground and setting up a tense finale. Inter finished with 21 shots in total, four classified as big chances by Opta, yet only Augusto's was converted. Chivu's side also struck the woodwork as they chased an equaliser.
Mourinho was candid about the spectacle. "I liked the result, three points against a very strong team," he said. "It was a crazy match, it could have been 5-0 for us or 5-5 or 6-5 or 7-6. Inter could have scored before us, after us. We could have closed it out several times. But crazy match."
Mbappé had drawn a blank at Real Betis the previous Friday — seven shots, a missed penalty, and no reward — but was sharper here. His goal was his 71st in the Champions League, moving him level with former Madrid striker Raúl in fifth place among the competition's all-time scorers. On the same day he was confirmed among the 30-strong Ballon d'Or shortlist for 2026, it was a timely return to form.
Madrid were without Arda Güler and Bernardo Silva, both serving red-card bans carried over from last season under UEFA regulations. Trent Alexander-Arnold operated out of position in central midfield and was replaced by Aurélien Tchouaméni after Augusto's goal. Vinicius Júnior was whistled by sections of the Bernabéu crowd after giving the ball away in the second half, though Mourinho made a point of applauding him as he left the pitch during his late substitution.
Cristian Chivu, who played under Mourinho during their Treble-winning campaign at Inter in 2010, said he had no anger at the defeat and was proud of the attitude shown. He described himself as happy and optimistic about the group's future.
Madrid face RB Leipzig next in the Champions League, while Inter host Club Brugge in their first home game of the league phase.
Reporting: ESPN, RTÉ, Football Italia, Guardian, The Sun, Evening Standard, The Athletic, Metro, GiveMeSport, Mirror, World Soccer Talk, The Independent, FourFourTwo, BBC.