Real Madrid edged out Inter Milan 2-1 in a thrilling Champions League opener at the Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde capitalised on early mistakes from the visitors to put Real into a commanding lead, with the Nerazzurri unable to recover despite a strong performance as Carlos Augusto’s late goal proved not enough.
It is Jose Mourinho’s first win since returning as Real Madrid boss, and it came against the team he won the competition with at the Bernabeu in 2010, as they made the ideal start to their 2026-27 campaign.
Mistakes cost Inter at Bernabeu
The visitors forced Thibaut Courtois into a good early save when Marcus Thuram stung the palms of the Real stopper from close range, with the hosts making a lethargic start at the Bernabeu.
Lautaro Martinez then tried his luck on the edge of the box which Courtois had to parry away again, but moments later the hosts were in front as Mbappe found the net with one of his first touches of the game.
Real won the ball high up after a poor ball from former Liverpool man Curtis Jones, with Mbappe nipping in sent through on goal to fire the ball home.
Jones, making his first Champions League start since joining Inter, played a loose ball towards Yan Bisseck, who struggled to deal with it as Mbappe pounced and played the ball into Brahim Diaz.
Diaz immediately returned it to Mbappe, who had a clear run at goal. The Frenchman made no mistake, sweeping the ball home to put Real in front and register his 71st Champions League goal.
Real soon had a second, with Federico Valverde taking advantage of another Inter error to extend the hosts’ lead. Goalkeeper Josep Martinez was too slow on the ball, allowing Valverde to close him down and turn the loose ball into the net. Real hadn’t really threatened, yet found themselves two goals ahead.
Jones, eager to make up for his error, turned inside the box after a nice move involving Martinez and the England midfielder’s effort grazed the top of the crossbar.
Jude Bellingham somehow didn’t put Real Madrid 3-0 up on the stroke of half-time after a mazy run by Mbappe was saved into the path of the England man, whose shot was blocked at point-blank range by Martinez in the Inter net before Diaz couldn’t turn the ball home at the third attempt.
Bellingham was guilty of another missed chance to kill the game off in the second half some lovely work by Diaz presented him with an open goal but, rather than head home, the midfielder’s decision to try and chest and finish allowed Martinez to recover and make a save.
Aside from the mistakes, Inter put in a strong performance at the Bernabeu in truth and will have been wondering how they failed to find the net, with Courtois putting in one of his trademark displays with a number of saves.
But that goal did finally come to set up a tense final 15 minutes, as Carlos Augusto had an easy finish from Martinez’s pass across goal.
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