Bellingham on Real Madrid's win over Inter

Jude Bellingham was asked in his post-match interview with Peter Schmeichel what it is like working under José Mourinho. "It's brilliant. He and his staff have set standards on the pitch and off it," he said. Pressed on what he meant by standards, Bellingham added: "The values that get instilled in the team. We understand what he expects from us, we're all on the same side."

On the match itself, Bellingham was more guarded. "We allowed Inter to create too many chances, though I think we still played quite well. That's down to the manager. Both of our goals came from a high press — maybe we weren't as good at that before. There were plenty of positives to take, but there's still a bitter aftertaste," he told Madrid Zone.

He went further in a separate comment, pointing to spells when Madrid were made to suffer "against a very strong team" that had not become Serie A champions by accident, though he said his own side had also caused Inter problems on the counter. "The game could have finished with a bigger scoreline. We had chances, including one of my own, but in the Champions League there are moments when you have to soak up pressure. We only conceded once, the defenders did well, but top sides find gaps. Thibaut Courtois was also excellent. Not everything was bad, but there's work to do. The main thing is the three points," Bellingham said, drawing a parallel with Madrid's recent defeat to Betis, where they also failed to convert their chances.

Inter's side of the result carried a different tone. By all accounts, Zvonimir Boban said Inter had conceded two odd goals but still showed character, while Lautaro Martínez felt space only opened up for his side towards the end of the game.

The Betis defeat, a 1-0 loss in which Alvaro Valles saved a stoppage-time Mbappé penalty, had ended Mourinho's unbeaten start in charge. Beating Inter goes some way to answering the questions that result raised, though Bellingham's own assessment suggests Mourinho's side are still a work in progress. Madrid are next in action on 12 September, away to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.