Mbappe And Valverde Strikes Send Real Madrid Past Inter Milan
Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde scored inside the opening 23 minutes as Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid held off a spirited Inter Milan fightback at the Bernabeu.
Mbappe And Valverde Punish Early Inter Errors
Real Madrid opened their 2026-27 Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite being outplayed for long spells by their Italian visitors. Kylian Mbappe put Jose Mourinho's side ahead in the 14th minute after Inter failed to clear their lines, with Brahim Diaz picking him out in space. Nine minutes later Federico Valverde doubled the lead, pouncing after another mistake as Inter tried to play out from the back.
Inter Dominate Possession But Can't Find A Way Back
Inter had 59 percent of the possession and out-shot Madrid 15 to 9 across the match, also winning 11 corners to Madrid's four, but struggled to turn that control into clear chances until late on. Carlos Augusto pulled a goal back in the 77th minute to set up a tense finish, and Thibaut Courtois was called into action as Inter pushed for an equaliser, but Madrid held on to take maximum points from their opening league-phase match.
Mbappe Closing In On Champions League's All-Time Scorers
Mbappe's goal added to a Champions League scoring tally that already stood at 70 before this campaign, one of only a handful of players to reach that mark alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Raul Gonzalez. He finished as the competition's leading scorer last season with 15 goals.
Photo: www.realmadrid.com