Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan, Mourinho: The Team Still Needs Major Improvement

Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in their Champions League opener, but manager Mourinho did not only talk about the victory after the match. He said the team is still clearly short of being in a true title-contending state, and the three points earned at the Bernabeu did not come easily.

The opening goals came from opponents' mistakes, and the match then became more open

Inter actually played better in the opening stages, until Curtis Jones and Josep Martinez made successive mistakes, allowing Real Madrid to seize the opportunity and score two goals in a row. Fede Valverde took advantage of Martinez's mistake to extend the lead to 2-0. After that, the rhythm of the match completely changed, with both sides creating many scoring chances.

Carlos Augusto pulled one back for Inter late in the match, and the final score was fixed at 2-1. Vinicius, Bellingham and Mbappe did not produce their best performances, but Real Madrid fans understand that under a new coach and a new tactical system, this is only the beginning of the season.

Mourinho: This was a "completely crazy" match

Mourinho did not avoid the issues at the post-match press conference. He said he liked the result because the three points came against a very strong opponent. But he also admitted that it was a "completely crazy" match: it could have ended 5-0, or it could have finished 5-5, 6-5 or even 7-6. Inter could have scored first, and Real Madrid also had chances to end the suspense earlier, but the match remained unpredictable until the final moment.

Real Madrid's start to the season has not been too bad, although they previously lost away to Real Betis in La Liga. Winning their Champions League opener against one of the most difficult opponents in the group stage is an acceptable result, but Mourinho knows that this team still needs major improvement to truly enter the title-contending ranks.