Champions League begins with a blockbuster Real Madrid-Inter clash and two strikers seeking redemption

The Champions League opens with a high-profile Real Madrid-Inter meeting at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Kylian Mbappé and Lautaro Martínez arrive with sharply different recent stories.

Mbappé had scored four goals in the first three rounds of the Spanish league and appeared to be building the kind of start expected from him at Real Madrid. Then came the defeat to Betis. He missed several chances, hit the crossbar and, in stoppage time, saw goalkeeper Álvaro Valles save his penalty.

The miss turned a difficult evening into a night centered on Mbappé. He has had only four days to respond, and the match against Inter offers an immediate chance to change the story. The article stresses that there is no crisis yet: his four league goals still mark a strong start, but every missed chance around a major striker brings fresh questions.

Martínez has followed the opposite path. He stayed quiet during the first two Serie A matches before scoring twice in Inter’s dramatic comeback against Napoli. The result kept the Italian champions at the top of the table alongside Roma, who lead on goal difference.

Mourinho defended Mbappé after the Betis defeat. “When one of us steps forward to take a penalty, we are all together,” he said, sharing responsibility for the error rather than singling out his star. Mbappé has also put himself forward for the Ballon d’Or after finishing as the 2026 World Cup’s top scorer and becoming the leading scorer in World Cup history. For Martínez, the Champions League title remains one of the few major honors missing from his career.

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When one of us steps forward to take a penalty, we are all together