Real Madrid early impressions: Jose Mourinho's men still far from being Champions League contenders — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Real Madrid beat Inter 2-1 at the Bernabéu in their Champions League league-phase opener, with both first-half goals coming after mistakes by Inter's Curtis Jones and goalkeeper Josep Martínez before Carlos Augusto scored late for Inter.
- Vinícius Jr., Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappé all had off days offensively, with Vinícius drawing audible fan frustration that prompted Mourinho to publicly defend him mid-match.
- José Mourinho turned Bernabéu boos for Vinícius into applause by applauding the winger in front of the crowd — a dressing-room moment Mbappé celebrated post-match, telling CBS Sports: "He makes you feel alive."
- Mourinho called the match "completely crazy" in his post-match press conference, saying it "could have ended 5-0 to us, 5-5, 6-5, or even 7-6," underscoring how open the game was despite the narrow scoreline.
- Real Madrid lost their previous LaLiga match away to Real Betis despite deserving to win, a result the source flags as evidence of early-season inconsistency under a new manager.
- The piece frames Mourinho's arrival through his own Netflix documentary quip — "You don't make documentaries about coaches who win nothing" — positioning his winning mentality as the central asset he brings to Madrid.
Why it matters: Real Madrid's toughest league-phase opponent was Inter, and stealing three points there is valuable, but the performance exposed the same attacking disjointedness that cost them at Real Betis days earlier. Mourinho's man-management — literally coaching the Bernabéu crowd mid-match — is doing more heavy lifting than his front three right now, and with Barcelona waiting in LaLiga, the gap between expectation and output is the real early-season story.
Ask SkimNews
