Early goals paper over struggles

Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid took a 2-0 lead inside 23 minutes against Inter, with Kylian Mbappe finishing 71st goal in the competition and Federico Valverde capitalising on a goalkeeping error from Josep Martinez.

Mbappe moves into all-time top five

Mbappe’s 14th-minute strike took him level with Raul on 71 Champions League goals, placing him joint-fifth all-time behind Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The goal came after pressure from Mbappe forced an error from Yann Bisseck, with Brahim Diaz feeding the Frenchman.

Valverde’s effort followed a careless drag-back by Martinez, allowed by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s midfield positioning as the former Liverpool full-back made his Champions League debut in midfield.

Inter push late

Inter had 21 shots and forced seven saves from Thibaut Courtois on his 100th Champions League appearance. Carlos Augusto pulled one back from a Lautaro Martinez cutback in the 77th minute, but Madrid held on despite criticism from their own fans for Vinicius Junior and Alexander-Arnold.

Mourinho was without Arda Guler, Bernardo Silva and Eduardo Camavinga through suspension, with Aurelien Tchouameni coming on late.