Jose Mourinho began his return to Real Madrid with a 2-1 Champions League victory over former club Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Real Madrid made the most of two defensive mistakes to take control in the first half. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute before Fede Valverde doubled the lead.
Inter started brightly and tested Thibaut Courtois early on, but the Madrid goalkeeper denied Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez.
Madrid then took advantage of a mistake from Curtis Jones, whose poor pass left Yann Bisseck under pressure. Brahim Diaz won possession and set up Mbappe, who finished quickly to put the hosts ahead.
Inter’s second error came when goalkeeper Josep Martinez held on to the ball for too long. Valverde pressed him, stole possession and finished into an empty net.
Inter goalkeeper Martinez made up for his mistake with a fine save from Jude Bellingham before half-time. He remained busy after the break, denying Mbappe and Bellingham as Madrid looked for a third goal.
Bellingham had another excellent opportunity shortly before the hour mark. Diaz created space and picked him out inside the box, but the England midfielder took an extra touch before shooting, allowing Martinez to make the save.
Inter continued to threaten, with Courtois producing another important stop to keep out Alessandro Bastoni’s effort.
Madrid failed to kill the game off and were punished in the 77th minute. Lautaro Martinez delivered a cross into the box and Carlos Augusto struck a powerful finish beyond Courtois to reduce the deficit.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Courtois stood firm. He produced another strong save to deny a deflected effort from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and preserve Madrid’s lead.
The victory gave Mourinho a winning start in Europe after Madrid had suffered their first defeat of the season against Real Betis in La Liga on Friday.
It was also a notable reunion for Mourinho. He guided Inter to the Champions League title in 2010 at the Bernabeu before taking charge of Real Madrid for the first time.
Madrid ultimately held on for three points, despite Inter’s late pressure and several missed chances to put the match beyond doubt.
