Courtois 8.5, Huijsen 7.5 | Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan: Player ratings

Real Madrid have started their 2026-27 Champions League campaign with a victory, having narrowly seen off Inter Milan at the Bernabeu . Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde got the goals for Jose Mourinho's side, who were nowhere near their best against the Nerazzurri, who will feel hard done-by to have come away from the Spanish capital with nothing.

Courtois hasn't been overly busy this season, but he had to be at his best to ensure victory for Real Madrid against Inter. He stopped the Italians from opening the scoring early on, and after his side went into the lead, he produced several top saves to make sure of the three points.

Many expected Dumfries to struggle defensively in Real Madrid's system, and this has certainly been the case so far. Against his former club, he was regularly beaten, with Inter targeting both flanks with great effect. He also failed to track the run of Carlos Augusto for the Inter goal, which was another blip on his record.

He had his lapses, for the most part, this was a better performance from Konate, who has made a relatively underwhelming start to his Real Madrid career. When the ball came into the penalty area, he was often there.

Huijsen has arguably been Real Madrid's best defender in the opening weeks of the season, and this was another good performance. He almost seemed to be in the perfect position to make blocks and clear danger, and right now, he is undroppable for Mourinho.

The first half was difficult for Cucurella, as Inter got a lot of joy down his side – largely due to him having insufficient support. He did relatively well to stop the Nerazzurri's efforts, but it was a struggle.

Trent was Mourinho's solution to having Bernardo Silva , Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Guler unavailable due to suspension, but it did not work. Real Madrid struggled in the midfield battle, with the former Liverpool man, who had only played in the position on a handful of occasions, clearly looking out of place. He also failed to track Lautaro Martinez 's run for Inter's goal.

Valverde struggled without an established midfield partner alongside him, although he did have a positive night after managing to score Real Madrid's second goal following an error from Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez.

Brought in for the suspended Guler, Brahim certainly took his chance. He linked up very well with his fellow Real Madrid forwards, getting the assist for Mbappe's goal and almost accumulating another when Jude Bellingham came close to scoring. The Morocco international was arguably the biggest threat for the hosts, which amplifies how well he did.

Bellingham has started the season in ferocious form, but this was an off-day for him. He had multiple chances to find the back of the net, but a combination of excellent goalkeeping and poor finishing stopped him from getting on the scoresheet.

Vinicius arguably had a better match in defence than attack. He worked hard to try supporting Cucurella, and his efforts were appreciated by the Bernabeu crowd. However, not much happened for him in the forward areas, which would have been a frustration for him.

He may have got his fifth goal of the season, but it was a frustrating night for Mbappe. He had chances to add to his tally, but his finishing was not as good as it usually is. Nevertheless, he made a telling contribution once again.

First appearance of the season for Tchouameni, who struggled to get involved in the game.

Had a couple of nice runs down the right, but his end product was lacking.

Brought on late by Mourinho to see out the victory – although he had to wait to come on after Vinicius took too long in leaving the field of play.

Champions League debut for the young striker, who replaced Mbappe in stoppage time.