Real Madrid Dominate Inter as Mbappé and Valverde Shine

Real Madrid have one hand on their Champions League league phase clash at the Santiago Bernabeu after a ruthless opening that left Inter reeling and two goals down before the half-hour mark.

The first blow arrived early. On 14 minutes, Kylian Mbappé did what he was brought to Madrid to do. A sharp, incisive move sliced through Inter, with Brahim Diaz threading a perfectly weighted pass into the Frenchman’s path. Mbappé timed his run, met it cleanly and turned the ball home to ignite the Bernabeu and put Los Blancos in front.

Inter were stunned, but the real damage came nine minutes later.

Trying to play out from the back in the 23rd minute, the Nerazzurri invited trouble in the worst possible area. A pass dropped to Lautaro Martinez right in front of his own goal. His touch lingered, just long enough for Federico Valverde to smell panic and charge him down with real intent.

Valverde’s press was brutal and decisive. He nicked the ball away from the Inter man and, with the goalkeeper stranded, watched it roll straight into the net. No finesse, no flourish. Just a punishing second goal that doubled Madrid’s lead and sent another roar around the stadium.

At 2-0, with the league phase tie still unfolding under the Bernabeu lights, Madrid now sit in complete command. Inter’s task has swelled into something enormous: they need a tactical reset, a surge of belief and a near-perfect response to claw anything back from this trip to the Spanish capital.

They are not just chasing a goal. They are chasing a way back into a contest that Real Madrid have already bent heavily in their favour.