"Me and Vinicius?" Mbappé asked himself in the preview, questioned about the need for him and the Brazilian to match the defensive efforts of other forwards like Raphinha or Dembélé. "I can play dumb and say that I score more goals... I do more things." The Frenchman seemed displeased with the controversy. And against Inter, curiosities of life and football, a timid pressure from him caused Madrid's first goal in the competition.
Perhaps it was not as deserved as against Betis, especially in the first half, but the appearance of Courtois, the effectiveness of Mbappé and the defensive errors of the Italians put the victory of a strange Madrid on track. Mourinho chose Trent Alexander-Arnold to occupy the double pivot alongside Valverde in the absence of Bernardo Silva, Arda Güler and Camavinga due to suspension. The Portuguese called up Tchouaméni and Thiago Pitarch, recovered from their respective injuries, but did not want to risk with them at the start.
In his place, the British right back, with good footing but irregular positioning, played midfielder. And he suffered at first. And with him Madrid in front of a Bernabéu that after ten minutes already whistled for his team.
Before, the stands had paid tribute to the population of Ceuta. Flags of the Autonomous City were distributed in the stands, especially in the southern back area, and "Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta is defended" was chanted for several minutes before the opening whistle. The public would have liked the tribute to have been carried out during the start of both teams and with a sign on the grass, but that was already the decision of UEFA, which on the opening day of the Champions League decided that a minute of silence would be held in all matches for the victims of the floods in Nepal.
Despite the decision of the continental organization, Chamartín showed his support for the Ceuta population during the first minutes of the duel, which was Jose Mourinho's return to the Bernabéu in the Champions League. The Portuguese coach's last game on Madrid territory in continental competition had been the dramatic semi-finals of the 2012-2013 season against Dortmund, his great goodbye to the white coliseum.
13 years later, Mourinho maintained that calm pose that he has been showing since the beginning of the preseason. He barely got up from his bench while on the other side, Cristian Chivu, a Romanian coach who played under Mourinho during his time at Inter, despaired of the chances missed by his team. Madrid's poor initial stretch caused whistles from the stands and the Portuguese to stand up, asking for more from his players with applause and shouts.
"Sometimes you can't explain defeats," Mourinho said in La Cartuja after losing to Betis. Something similar must have been thought after Valverde's 2-0 after Josep Martínez's dramatic error. Madrid took a two-goal lead on the scoreboard after two errors by the rival and two pressures on the Italian ball outlet.
With possession that did not exceed 35%, with fewer passes than its rival and with Inter landing in Courtois's area every now and then, Madrid was surviving while wasting chances. Bellingham was left lying on the ground for a minute after missing a very clear option before the break and missed others after the intermission that got the Bernabéu on edge. Then Brahim, then Mbappé... A constant denial of the goal while Mourinho raised his arms in disbelief.
In the other area, Courtois, with five worthy saves and seeing more than 20 shots coming around his goal, screamed non-stop. Inter's goal angered the crowd, who once again booed Madrid loudly after an unfinished attack by Vinicius. The Brazilian received more whistles, as did Mbappé, when he was replaced by Carreras in the 86th minute. Mourinho came out to meet him, applauded him and hugged him, but part of the stands booed him. The striker also took a while to leave the pitch and the referee kept Carreras on the wing for more than a minute.
"I'm not commenting on the public's reaction. I won't comment on it. People here have different types of demands and you like these types of questions, let's see if I say that I'm angry with the fans... I'm happy with the points," Mourinho said.
The coach claimed to have "respect" for Vinicius. "Vini deserves all my respect. He is not at his best, you see it and I see it. He is the first to know it. He is working to be that Vinicius who decides games, he is working harder than ever. When he couldn't it was due to fatigue, it is not easy. The time will come when he decides games," he added.
Inter won in possession, shots and corners, but lost. Madrid won, breathing again.
