Real Madrid Beat Inter to Open Champions League

Real Madrid beat Inter 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on 8 September in their opening fixture of the Champions League's new league phase, and stretched their scoring run in the competition to 11 matches straight.

Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring on 14 minutes, and Federico Valverde doubled the lead nine minutes later. Carlos Augusto pulled one back for Inter on 77 minutes, but the visitors could not find an equaliser. Carlos Augusto stepped into the side in place of Federico Dimarco, ruled out by a precautionary knee sprain picked up in the build-up to the trip to Madrid.

It was Real's first Champions League match since Carlo Ancelotti returned to the club as head coach in June. The Italian has now overseen a win in his first continental fixture back in charge.

Mbappé's opener was his 71st goal in the competition, moving him into the top five all-time scorers in the Champions League — behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (140), Lionel Messi (129), Robert Lewandowski (109) and Karim Benzema (90).

Real have now scored in 11 consecutive Champions League matches, their longest such run since September 2024, when they scored in 14 in a row. Their last blank in the competition came on 4 November 2025, a 0-1 defeat away to Liverpool.

Inter, for all the defeat, were the tidier side on the ball, which will count for little in the table. Inter's next fixture in the competition is away to Club Brugge, though not until October.

In the new format, the top eight in the 36-team league phase go straight through to the last 16, while those finishing ninth to 24th face play-off ties for a place in the knockout rounds.