Inter’s first Champions League opponents are Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, who had the worst possible build-up with a surprising 1-0 defeat at Real Betis.
The Nerazzurri open their European campaign on Tuesday September 9 at the Bernabeu.
While Cristian Chivu won’t be in action domestically until Saturday evening when Inter host Napoli in Serie A, Real Madrid played their LaLiga fixture tonight.
Real Madrid prepare for Inter with defeat
The Merengues had previously won all three matches since Mourinho took over this summer, defeating Espanyol 2-1, Real Sociedad 4-1 and Malaga 4-0.
However, they were stunned 1-0 away to Real Betis this evening by a goal from Troy Parrott.
Álvaro Valles denies Kylian Mbappé and lets him know about it after!
That penalty save might just secure all three points for Real Betis
pic.twitter.com/DpR7NdOtMZ
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) September 4, 2026
Kylian Mbappé had the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot, but was denied by the good save from Alvaro Valles.
They also thought they had scored late on through Carlos Espi, but it was ruled offside.
Inter will be heartened to see how many of these players are struggling for form after the World Cup, above all Mbappé, who wasted several good chances along with the penalty.
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior were also fairly quiet, and €125m signing Yan Diomande making little impact.
