Overview
- Real Madrid opened the UEFA Champions League phase de liga with a 2-1 home win over Inter at the Santiago Bernabéu, which came on Tuesday, September 8 and gave the club three points in the new 36-team format.
- Kylian Mbappé scored the opener after an Inter defensive turnover and Federico Valverde made it 2-0 after a handling error by Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez, while Carlos Augusto pulled one back late with an assist from Lautaro Martínez.
- Despite his early mistake, Josep Martínez then produced several important saves that kept Inter in the match and prevented Madrid from extending the lead.
- Mbappé, who started alongside Vinícius Jr. and Jude Bellingham, had been asked about his defensive work in a pre-match press conference where he said every player must improve and that he wants to do things 'intelligently and differently.'
- The match was carried by regional rights holders including TNT Sports/HBO Max in Mexico, ESPN/Disney+ Premium in parts of Latin America and Movistar Plus in Spain, and both teams now turn to domestic duties before meeting Roma and Club Brugge respectively in their next Champions fixtures in October.