Real Madrid's Courtois showered with praise. Inter player: "One of the best in the world"

The record 15-time Champions League winners struggled with Inter's play from the start, yet took a 2-0 lead following mistakes from the visitors. Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a series of errors from the Italian side. The French striker has now scored in 11 consecutive Champions League seasons, equalling Spain's Raúl for fifth on the all-time list, having played fewer matches.

In Europe's premier competition, he now has 71 goals in 99 appearances. Only Karim Benzema (90), Robert Lewandowski (109), Lionel Messi (129), and Cristiano Ronaldo (140) have scored more. The opening goal came from Real's first shot on target, and the Spanish giants extended their lead after a blunder from goalkeeper Josep Martínez.

In the 23rd minute, Martínez tried to evade the pressing Federico Valverde in the penalty area, but the midfielder read his intentions, intercepted the ball, and slotted it into an empty net. The home side could have added a third before the break, but Martínez redeemed himself with a quick-reflex save to deny Jude Bellingham.

His counterpart, Thibaut Courtois, had already made several quality saves by that point and added more after the interval. He ultimately stopped six shots, beaten only by Carlos Augusto in the 77th minute, and stood firm for his team during a nervy finish.

"We capitalised on their mistakes, but we also could have put the game to bed. The second half was a bit crazy, and that's something we need to improve on," Courtois said after his 100th Champions League appearance, according to AFP. Captain Valverde was named man of the match, but he acknowledged that the Belgian was equally deserving of the award. "He saved us today; he had a great performance," said Valverde.

Coach Cristian Chivu praised goalkeeper Martínez for his reaction after the mistake that led to the 2-0 goal, while visiting captain Lautaro Martínez lamented his team's lack of clinical finishing.

"We couldn't convert our chances. We were up against one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but we have to improve and should have been more clinical. That doesn't change the fact that we can be proud of ourselves because we put in a great performance against a quality opponent," stated the Argentine striker.

Mourinho won his last Champions League trophy at the end of the 2009/2010 season as Inter's manager, in a final held at Real's stadium. Just days after achieving a historic treble with the Italian team, he began his first stint on the bench for "Los Blancos." After two trophyless seasons, president Florentino Pérez decided to bring the Portuguese manager back, and his team bounced back in the Champions League after a league defeat away to Real Betis.

"It was a crazy match. We often hear criticism about boring games, but that wasn't the case today. A 2-1 game could easily have ended 7-6," said Mourinho, who also admitted his team failed to control the match. However, he noted that the visitors didn't manage to either.

"If you don't have control of the game and they do, it's difficult. But when neither team has it, it's a completely different situation. Our goalkeeper made several saves, but we also missed several chances. Our goals came when the opponent was going through a tough spell, but I have to praise my players. Both goals were the result of hard work," Mourinho concluded.

Although the coach praised his players for their team effort and securing the three points, he couldn't have been entirely satisfied with the team's organisation. Real allowed Inter to control long stretches of the game, lacked precision in their passing, and failed to convert several chances in front of goal. However, they were missing several key players in midfield, with Trent Alexander-Arnold having to fill in.

While the right-back has played in that position several times for his country and for Liverpool, he didn't particularly convince coach Mourinho. Real Madrid fans whistled their own players on several occasions, even while leading by two goals, with Vinícius Júnior and the Englishman being targeted during their substitutions.

Real faces a mini-Madrid derby against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and will next play in the Champions League on October 14th away at AS Roma. Inter will host Udinese on Monday, looking to build on their three wins from the start of the Serie A season. Their next European fixture is at home against Bruges on October 13th.