JOSE MOURINHO’S REAL Madrid secured a narrow 2-1 victory over his former side Inter Milan in a high-octane Champions League opener on Tuesday.
The record 15-time European champions took a two-goal lead through Kylian Mbappé and Fede Valverde thanks to two Inter errors in the first half.
Carlos Augusto smashed home for Cristian Chivu’s team in the second half, but they could not find an equaliser at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Madrid coach Mourinho led the Italian side to Champions League glory in 2010 at the same stadium, the last time either they or he managed to lift the trophy, a few days before joining Los Blancos for his first stint at the helm.
After two seasons without a major trophy and enduring early European exits, Madrid president Florentino Perez brought back the Portuguese veteran to try and stop the rot, and Mourinho got the team off to both a triumphant and entertaining start to the league phase.
Mourinho’s side bounced back from a first defeat of the season at Real Betis in La Liga on Friday, although goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made several smart saves and Inter were wasteful.
The Italians started energetically in attack but were destabilised by two grievous errors at the back. Madrid stopper Courtois denied Marcus Thuram and then Lautaro Martinez as the visitors probed.
However, in the 14th minute Curtis Jones’s poor pass put Yann Bisseck under pressure, and Brahim Diaz poked the ball through to Mbappé, who swiftly fired home.
Madrid’s second was gobbled up by Valverde when Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez dallied on the ball despite the Uruguay international charging straight for him.
When the Spanish stopper realised, it was too late and as he tried to turn, Valverde pried the ball away from him and into the net.
Mourinho’s side should have added another before half-time, but Martinez made amends for his mistake with a sensational save to thwart Jude Bellingham.
- Madrid hold on -
Mbappé blazed past Inter’s defence, and Martinez saved his low shot before somehow blocking Bellingham’s effort from point-blank range.
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Bellingham missed another golden chance before the hour mark after Diaz cleverly worked his way into the area and crossed for him.
The England international might have headed home straight away but chose to control the ball and gave goalkeeper Martinez time to fly across his line and save the eventual shot.
Courtois added to his collection of impressive saves by pushing away Alessandro Bastoni’s low drive as Inter tried to find a foothold.
Madrid carved Inter open but could not put the game to bed, with Martinez saving from Mbappé and Diaz then sliding narrowly wide.
Carlos Augusto blasted past Courtois from Lautaro Martinez’s cross in the 77th minute to give Madrid a nervy ending to the game.
Madrid fans were upset when Álvaro Carreras was made to wait for a minute on the sidelines before he could come on as a substitute, because Vinícius Júnior took too long to come off when he was replaced.
Courtois beat away a deflected Henrikh Mkhitaryan effort to ensure his team took all three points.
Manchester City players celebrate after Erling Haaland, right, scored the opening goal. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City began their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory at Porto.
Haaland was denied by a hat-trick of fine saves by Diogo Costa before half-time, but was not to be denied early in the second half as his downward header found the bottom corner.
Porto pushed the English giants back for the rest of the second half but lacked the quality to punish Enzo Maresca’s men despite a series of sloppy errors from the visitors.
Haaland showed the difference in class between the sides when he clinically slotted into the bottom corner in stoppage time to become City’s third-highest goalscorer of all time on 167 goals.
“We have all the pressure we have to deliver on the biggest stage, and that’s what we did today,” Haaland told Amazon Prime.
“These are the games you have to win, and we’ve got a great start to the season.
“In the Champions League you have to win games, because if not, suddenly you get all the pressure, and then you never know what’s going to happen.”
Backed by a record £460 million (€536.51 million) splash on new signings, Maresca has made a positive start to the daunting task of succeeding Pep Guardiola in the City hotseat.
But Haaland remains the main man for City and has not shown any sign of a hangover from his World Cup heroics with Norway to net five times in his first four games of the new campaign.
Maresca handed Ayyoub Bouaddi his first start since his €100 million move from Lille.
Remarkably, the teenage Moroccan is still only the third most expensive midfielder City signed in the transfer window after Enzo Fernández and Elliott Anderson both surpassed the £100 million (€116.63 million) mark.
Bouaddi and Fernandez impressed in a bright first-half display from City that only lacked a goal thanks to a masterclass by Costa in the Porto goal.
The Portuguese international flung himself high to his left to claw away a powerful Haaland header with the visitors’ first big chance.
Costa foiled the giant Norwegian once more with a brilliant double save after fine play by Bouaddi and Phil Foden in the build-up.
Porto’s last line of defence was finally breached just two minutes into the second half.
This time Haaland’s header from Fernandez’s cross had far less power but trickled into the bottom corner with Costa wrong-footed.
Yet the goal provoked a transformation in Porto’s attacking intent, while City were guilty of easing off.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was saved by the offside flag after he raced off his line to wipe out Pepe for what would have been a clear penalty.
That was not the only heart-in-mouth moment for the Italian as his attempted clearance was charged down by William Gomes but bounced agonisingly wide for the home side.
City also faded badly in the closing stages to just hold on to a 1-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry on Saturday.
This time, though, they got the second goal to kill Porto off as Haaland slotted in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross for his 59th Champions League goal in 59 games in the competition.
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Mourinho's Real Madrid make winning start, Haaland inspires Man City
Champions League late-game results:
JOSE MOURINHO’S REAL Madrid secured a narrow 2-1 victory over his former side Inter Milan in a high-octane Champions League opener on Tuesday.
The record 15-time European champions took a two-goal lead through Kylian Mbappé and Fede Valverde thanks to two Inter errors in the first half.
Carlos Augusto smashed home for Cristian Chivu’s team in the second half, but they could not find an equaliser at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Madrid coach Mourinho led the Italian side to Champions League glory in 2010 at the same stadium, the last time either they or he managed to lift the trophy, a few days before joining Los Blancos for his first stint at the helm.
After two seasons without a major trophy and enduring early European exits, Madrid president Florentino Perez brought back the Portuguese veteran to try and stop the rot, and Mourinho got the team off to both a triumphant and entertaining start to the league phase.
Mourinho’s side bounced back from a first defeat of the season at Real Betis in La Liga on Friday, although goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made several smart saves and Inter were wasteful.
The Italians started energetically in attack but were destabilised by two grievous errors at the back. Madrid stopper Courtois denied Marcus Thuram and then Lautaro Martinez as the visitors probed.
However, in the 14th minute Curtis Jones’s poor pass put Yann Bisseck under pressure, and Brahim Diaz poked the ball through to Mbappé, who swiftly fired home.
Madrid’s second was gobbled up by Valverde when Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez dallied on the ball despite the Uruguay international charging straight for him.
When the Spanish stopper realised, it was too late and as he tried to turn, Valverde pried the ball away from him and into the net.
Mourinho’s side should have added another before half-time, but Martinez made amends for his mistake with a sensational save to thwart Jude Bellingham.
- Madrid hold on -
Mbappé blazed past Inter’s defence, and Martinez saved his low shot before somehow blocking Bellingham’s effort from point-blank range.
Bellingham missed another golden chance before the hour mark after Diaz cleverly worked his way into the area and crossed for him.
The England international might have headed home straight away but chose to control the ball and gave goalkeeper Martinez time to fly across his line and save the eventual shot.
Courtois added to his collection of impressive saves by pushing away Alessandro Bastoni’s low drive as Inter tried to find a foothold.
Madrid carved Inter open but could not put the game to bed, with Martinez saving from Mbappé and Diaz then sliding narrowly wide.
Carlos Augusto blasted past Courtois from Lautaro Martinez’s cross in the 77th minute to give Madrid a nervy ending to the game.
Madrid fans were upset when Álvaro Carreras was made to wait for a minute on the sidelines before he could come on as a substitute, because Vinícius Júnior took too long to come off when he was replaced.
Courtois beat away a deflected Henrikh Mkhitaryan effort to ensure his team took all three points.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City began their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory at Porto.
Haaland was denied by a hat-trick of fine saves by Diogo Costa before half-time, but was not to be denied early in the second half as his downward header found the bottom corner.
Porto pushed the English giants back for the rest of the second half but lacked the quality to punish Enzo Maresca’s men despite a series of sloppy errors from the visitors.
Haaland showed the difference in class between the sides when he clinically slotted into the bottom corner in stoppage time to become City’s third-highest goalscorer of all time on 167 goals.
“We have all the pressure we have to deliver on the biggest stage, and that’s what we did today,” Haaland told Amazon Prime.
“In the Champions League you have to win games, because if not, suddenly you get all the pressure, and then you never know what’s going to happen.”
Backed by a record £460 million (€536.51 million) splash on new signings, Maresca has made a positive start to the daunting task of succeeding Pep Guardiola in the City hotseat.
But Haaland remains the main man for City and has not shown any sign of a hangover from his World Cup heroics with Norway to net five times in his first four games of the new campaign.
Maresca handed Ayyoub Bouaddi his first start since his €100 million move from Lille.
Remarkably, the teenage Moroccan is still only the third most expensive midfielder City signed in the transfer window after Enzo Fernández and Elliott Anderson both surpassed the £100 million (€116.63 million) mark.
Bouaddi and Fernandez impressed in a bright first-half display from City that only lacked a goal thanks to a masterclass by Costa in the Porto goal.
The Portuguese international flung himself high to his left to claw away a powerful Haaland header with the visitors’ first big chance.
Costa foiled the giant Norwegian once more with a brilliant double save after fine play by Bouaddi and Phil Foden in the build-up.
Porto’s last line of defence was finally breached just two minutes into the second half.
This time Haaland’s header from Fernandez’s cross had far less power but trickled into the bottom corner with Costa wrong-footed.
Yet the goal provoked a transformation in Porto’s attacking intent, while City were guilty of easing off.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was saved by the offside flag after he raced off his line to wipe out Pepe for what would have been a clear penalty.
That was not the only heart-in-mouth moment for the Italian as his attempted clearance was charged down by William Gomes but bounced agonisingly wide for the home side.
City also faded badly in the closing stages to just hold on to a 1-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry on Saturday.
This time, though, they got the second goal to kill Porto off as Haaland slotted in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross for his 59th Champions League goal in 59 games in the competition.
– © AFP 2026
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