Jose Mourinho spent two years at Inter and left them European champions. On Tuesday he sat in the Real Madrid dugout and watched his current club beat his old one 2-1, and the reception he got at the final whistle from the Bernabeu was warmer than anything he has had in Madrid for a very long time.
Kylian Mbappe scored on fourteen minutes. Fede Valverde added a second before half time. Inter pulled one back late through Carlos Augusto and it finished 2-1, closer than the first forty-five minutes deserved.
Two First-Half Gifts
Inter were not outplayed. That is the frustrating part for the Italian side. They passed the ball reasonably, they created chances, and they handled Madrid's press better than most visitors manage at the Bernabeu.
What they did was hand over two goals. Mbappe's opener came from a defensive lapse rather than a piece of Madrid brilliance, and Valverde's second followed a similar pattern. Against this forward line, two errors in a half is the whole game.
Mourinho and the Ghosts
Mourinho's return to Real Madrid was met with a split reception. His first spell at the club ended badly and plenty of supporters had not forgotten the manner of it. Beating Inter in the Champions League opener buys goodwill quickly.
He was measured about it afterwards. Mourinho has learned, somewhere along the way, that the version of himself who talked about the past every week did not last long anywhere. This one is talking about the next fixture.
Carlos Augusto Made It Uncomfortable
Inter's goal came late enough to change the tone of the closing stages. Madrid had been comfortable, then suddenly they were defending a one-goal lead against a team that had found its rhythm. It held, but the last ten minutes were not what a 2-0 half-time lead is supposed to produce.
Madrid have three points. Inter have questions about why a side that played this well came away with nothing.
Match facts: Real Madrid 2-1 Inter, UEFA Champions League league phase matchday one, Santiago Bernabeu, Tuesday 8 September 2026. Goals: Mbappe 14, Valverde, Carlos Augusto (Inter). It was Jose Mourinho's first Champions League match against Inter since managing them to the treble in 2010.
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