A win that convinced no one
Thibaut Courtois was still throwing himself across his line in the closing minutes of a match his team was winning. That tells you most of what you need to know about Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in their Champions League opener. Samuel Umtiti watched it and saw almost nothing to like.
The former France international gave his verdict on After Foot on RMC. “Real are going to struggle this year… There are so many gaps in this team. At times, there are huge holes in midfield, and defending is impossible… Tonight, they got lucky. I don’t see a team, there’s nothing there.”
No nuance. The 2018 world champion was aiming at the shape of Jose Mourinho’s side, not the scoreline.
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Two Inter mistakes, two Madrid goals, and 70 minutes of hanging on
Madrid were under the cosh first. Inter dominated the opening half-hour without scoring, then handed over two gifts. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute, Federico Valverde made it 2-0 in the 23rd.
After that, Real sat back. Inter hit the crossbar and kept coming. Courtois produced save after save. Carlos Augusto pulled one back in the 77th minute and Madrid finished the night clinging on.
The backdrop does not help. Four days earlier, Real had lost for the first time this season, away at Betis, 1-0.
Money spent, pieces still not fitting
The club spent heavily this summer and is chasing a 16th European crown. On the pitch, none of it is joining up yet. The midfield leaves gaps. The back line keeps dropping deeper. The keeper cleans up whatever gets through.
Mourinho has three points and plenty to work on. The next rounds of the league phase will settle whether Umtiti called it early or just called it wrong.
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