Mbappé and Valverde press, Courtois saves, and Real Madrid beat Inter

Real Madrid found the victory José Mourinho had demanded from pressure, even though Inter often played the better football. Kylian Mbappé and Fede Valverde turned relentless chasing into two first-half goals, while Thibaut Courtois became the refuge Real Madrid needed when the Italian side pushed for a different result.

Mbappé had faced questions the day before about whether he needed to press more. His answer came through effort. He chased Bisséck, forced a mistake and then finished Brahim’s assist after 15 minutes. There was little elaborate football in the move, but plenty of hunger.

The second goal made the point even more clearly. Valverde pursued a ball that appeared to belong to Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez. He reached him, forced a poor clearance and then took the rebound, with the ball striking him before ending up in the net.

The 2-0 score explained Real Madrid’s efficiency, not the balance of the match. Inter found spaces more naturally and took 10 shots. Huijsen nearly scored an own goal, Courtois denied Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Curtis Jones hit the crossbar. Real Madrid had energy but little fluent play, while Inter threatened more consistently.

Bellingham came close to a third on a counterattack, but Martínez made an excellent save. After the break, Vinícius drew early whistles and the team as a whole faced jeers when it could not impose itself. Still, the result gave Mourinho’s team a valuable response after the defeat to Betis, in a match that represented perhaps its toughest test yet.