Real Madrid survive by a miracle from the fangs of the serpents: a deceptive win that hides the flaws of Mourinho's line-up
Real Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in their Champions League opener. The scoreline flatters them. Los Blancos laboured throughout against their Italian visitors, and the result papered over a series of mistakes by Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho in picking the right XI.
Take away the three points and Inter Milan were the better team for long stretches. They imposed their style and threatened the Real goal more than once, only for Thibaut Courtois to deny them. The goalkeeper's brilliance kept out dangerous chances that could have changed the complexion of the match.
Real Madrid, by contrast, barely needed to build anything to score. They cashed in on naive errors from Inter's defenders and their goalkeeper, handing the hosts an advantage that never looked natural, especially in a first half the Nerazzurri controlled.
Even then, Real's forwards spurned gilt-edged chances that should have killed the game off at 2-0. That profligacy dragged Los Merengues' suffering into the closing minutes. The result works for Mourinho. The performance and the selections behind it raise plenty of questions about how Real Madrid looked in their first European test.
Unsuitable combination
José Mourinho walked into this one with a midfield crisis on his hands. Three players sat out through suspension at once: Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva and Arda Güler, all serving bans for red cards picked up in the previous edition of the Champions League. That left the Portuguese with a nightmare puzzle to solve in one of the most important areas of the pitch.
Aurélien Tchouaméni offered little relief, still short of full fitness after his recent return from injury. So Mourinho rolled the dice, pushing Trent Alexander-Arnold into midfield alongside Fede Valverde. The gamble backfired. Real Madrid never found their balance, and the setup exposed clear flaws in the way Los Blancos played.
Fielding only Alexander-Arnold and Valverde in the middle handed the space straight to Inter Milan. The Italians packed the area with five men, giving them a clear numerical advantage and far greater control of the ball. They moved it, kept it and built their attacks at will, while Real Madrid struggled to knit defence and attack together.
Inter kept coming. Wave after wave of pressure poured forward, and the gulf between the sides grew wider. Real Madrid leaned heavily on the brilliance of Thibaut Courtois to keep the danger out. The Belgian pulled off save after save, keeping his side in the contest and laying bare the flaw in Mourinho's plan: this midfield was never built to handle a team with such numbers and control in the centre of the park.
Defensive naivety and a ruthless attack
Inter Milan were pressing and looking the better side when Real Madrid received their first gift. Oriel Bisseck lost the ball in a dangerous area, Brahim Diaz pounced, and Kylian Mbappe finished it off. The goal came completely against the run of play, handing the Merengues the lead just as Inter looked the more threatening.
Inter had barely digested the first goal, with no time to reorganise, when goalkeeper Josep Martinez served up something even more careless. He tried to dribble past Fede Valverde, lost the ball, and watched it roll into his own net. Two goals to the good, without reply, and the flow of the match told a very different story to the scoreline.
Real Madrid had turned two individual errors into two goals without producing their best or seizing control. The Italians enjoyed more possession, more control and more chances. They paid a heavy price for their defensive lapses against opponents who punish the slightest opening.
By half-time the picture was clear. Inter Milan were the better side on the pitch and Real Madrid were two goals up. That equation captured the gulf between the two teams in decisive moments: the Nerazzurri squandered their chances while Real made the most of every gift, reaching the break in front with minimal effort.
A deceptive win
Real Madrid had the chance to kill the game off in the second half. Inter pushed every line forward chasing a comeback, leaving gaps at the back, and those spaces handed the Royal Club more than one dangerous break. Wastefulness in front of goal denied them a third that would have settled matters completely.
Inter kept coming, pressing away at the Real Madrid defence, and with roughly a quarter of an hour left Augusto pulled one back to reduce the deficit. Anxiety flooded back through the Royal Club. Mourinho reacted at once, throwing on Aurélien Tchouaméni to add balance in midfield and control the closing minutes.
That goal sent Real Madrid into a near-total retreat, their players dropping deep to protect the lead as Inter tried to exploit the withdrawal and pressed right to the end. The Royal Club held firm. They kept their advantage until the final whistle and took the three points despite the suffering they endured.
So this victory over Inter Milan remains a deceptive one. The result gives Mourinho a perfect start in the Champions League, but the performance exposed clear problems in the line-up, the balance and the finishing. Relying every week on Courtois' individual brilliance, the opponent's mistakes or a moment of attacking quality is no way to build. Mourinho must rethink his approach quickly and find a better shape for the team, because individual efforts will not always rescue Real Madrid or hide their flaws.
