A dramatic opening-night clash at the Santiago Bernabéu ended with Real Madrid claiming a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the opening round of the Champions League. The result hardly told the whole story: the Italian giants dominated possession for around two-thirds of the match and enjoyed significant spells of pressure, only to be undone by two extraordinary defensive errors.

Inter Milan made their intentions clear from the opening whistle, pushing forward and looking to control the game. The visitors repeatedly tested the Madrid defence with deliveries from Andy Diouf and long-range efforts from Hakan Çalhanoğlu. But on 14 minutes, a dreadful mistake just outside their own penalty area changed the game.

Brahim Díaz immediately found Kylian Mbappé, and the French forward showed the composure expected of one of world football's biggest stars, calmly finishing the chance to give Real Madrid a 1-0 lead.

Just nine minutes later, Inter's nightmare deepened. Goalkeeper Josep Martínez attempted an unnecessary piece of dribbling inside his own six-yard box, only for the alert Federico Valverde to dispossess him. The ball rolled straight into an empty net, handing Madrid a remarkable 2-0 advantage.

Ironically, Josep Martínez produced an outstanding performance for the remainder of the match and made several crucial saves. His overall display was so impressive that, despite the disastrous error, he could still make a case for being named Player of the Match.

Inter Milan continued their assault after the break, refusing to surrender. Real Madrid, however, remained dangerous on the counter-attack and gradually closed the gap in the shot statistics while creating the more threatening opportunities.

Then, in the 77th minute, Real Madrid's defence finally cracked. Lautaro Martínez delivered a dangerous ball from the right, and Carlos Augusto got ahead of his marker to finish and drag Inter back into the contest.

The comeback ultimately proved beyond the visitors. Real Madrid held firm to begin their latest Champions League campaign with three points, while Inter Milan were left to reflect on a night when their own mistakes proved more damaging than their overall performance.

2026-27, Champions League

Real - Inter 2:1 (2:0)
Goals: Mbappé, 14 (1:0); Valverde F., 23 (2:0); Carlos Augusto, 77 (2:1)

Real: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold (Tchouaméni, 79); Dumfries; Konate; Cucurella; Huijsen; Diaz Br. (Diomande Y., 79); Bellingham; Valverde F.; Vinícius Júnior (Carreras, 87); Mbappé (Espi, 93)
Substitution: Tchouaméni (from 79); Diomande Y. (from 79); Carreras (from 87); Espi (from 93)
Bench: Lunin Andriy; Mestre; Rudiger; Pitarch; Cestero; Endrick
Yellow Cards: Huijsen 80

Inter: Martínez J-p; Pavard (Stones, 46); Bisseck; Bastoni; Carlos Augusto (Mkhitaryan, 83); Barella (Sucic P., 60); Çalhanoğlu (Zielinski P., 60); Jones Cur.; Thuram M. (Bonny, 60); Martínez L.; Diouf A.
Substitution: Stones (from 46); Sucic P. (from 60); Zielinski P. (from 60); Bonny (from 60); Mkhitaryan (from 83)
Bench: Di Gennaro; Provedel; Akanji; Stankovic Al.; Pio Esposito; Luis Henrique T.L.
Yellow Cards: Çalhanoğlu 39; Martínez L. 80; Bisseck 94