Real Madrid vs Inter: Mourinho against his old club

Real Madrid open their Champions League league-phase campaign by hosting Inter at the Santiago Bernabéu at 22:00 Türkiye time on Tuesday 8 September. The story of the night is the man in the home dugout: José Mourinho, back as Real Madrid head coach for a second time this summer, faces the club where he lived one of the turning points of his career.

Mourinho won Serie A and the Champions League with Inter, whom he managed from 2008 to 2010, before taking charge of Real Madrid in the summer of 2010 for three seasons in Spain. Back at Real Madrid for a second spell this summer after his time at Fenerbahçe, the Portuguese was cautious at his pre-match press conference: after a Real Betis defeat in which they played well, he stressed that his priority was three points rather than the quality of the football, and said his dream of winning the Champions League with Real Madrid continues but that he keeps it separate from his 2010-13 story. Mourinho also criticised the VAR decisions in the Betis match sharply and said Endrick, back from injury, could get five to ten minutes at most.

Mourinho also reminded people that this is a single early fixture in the league phase and that the result alone will not settle qualification; in his own words, both sides expect to finish the league phase in the upper places. Even so, given it comes immediately after the Betis defeat, a loss to his former club would clearly be the first serious test of Mourinho's second Real Madrid spell.

There is another layer to the story: Inter's head coach Cristian Chivu was himself part of the squad Mourinho led to the title in 2010. Appointed in June 2025 in place of Simone Inzaghi, the Romanian now faces his former manager as head coach of his former club. That detail gives the match a meaning beyond the contest on the pitch.

Real Madrid arrive in mixed form. Winners of five of their last six under Mourinho, they lost 1-0 away to Real Betis in LaLiga on 4 September; the goal on 81 minutes was the first defeat of Mourinho's second spell, and goalkeeper Álvaro Valles saved Kylian Mbappé's stoppage-time penalty. It is the first time since 2014-15 that Real Madrid have lost one of their opening four league matches. They will be without the injured Ferland Mendy, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Raúl Asencio and the long-term absentee Rodrygo, as well as Arda Güler, Eduardo Camavinga and summer signing Bernardo Silva through UEFA suspension; a squad stretched this thin also limits Mourinho's rotation options.

Against that, Mbappé's individual form shines: the France forward has scored four LaLiga goals this season, hit a hat-trick against Real Sociedad, contributed to the 4-0 win over Málaga and is the team's leading scorer. Making amends for the penalty he missed against Betis would matter for his own confidence and his team's. On the other side, Chivu's Inter are unbeaten in 15 matches and have won four of their last six; the Italians travel to Madrid in good heart.

The historical record adds to the intrigue: Real Madrid have won the last four Champions League meetings between the sides, scoring eight and conceding two. The most recent, at the Bernabéu in December 2021, ended 2-0 to the Spanish side. Inter's desire to end that run makes this Mourinho's first major European test of his second Real Madrid spell; a defeat would carry extra weight coming both against his old club and at a critical starting point.

The rebuilt stands at the Bernabéu generate a particularly loud atmosphere on Champions League nights; how the crowd receives Mourinho and his old club is one of the sub-plots of the evening. The match kicks off at 22:00 and is shown in Türkiye on TRT and tabii Spor. This is matchweek 1 of the 2026-27 Champions League; both sides will play an eight-match programme across the season.

For Real Madrid supporters the match is also a test of memory: the tense but trophy-laden years with Mourinho between 2010 and 2013 are still debated. He is said to have returned as a calmer, more experienced figure; the composure he showed after the Betis defeat points the same way. On the Inter side, Chivu will want to prove once more, on this stage, the bond he built with the club as both player and coach.

The match is broadcast in Türkiye on TRT and tabii Spor. For the other big fixtures of the week and all the details of Galatasaray's trip to Sporting CP, see our main Champions League guide and our five-matches-of-the-week piece.