Real Madrid beat Inter 2-1 at the Bernabeu in their opening 2026-27 Champions League match, but Federico Valverde made sure the performance did not get dressed up. He won the MVP award after first-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Valverde gave Madrid the points, yet he said Thibaut Courtois “saved us” after a second half in which Madrid “suffered a lot”.
Courtois as the difference
Valverde’s strongest line was simple and it came from the pitch rather than the trophy photo. Speaking to siempremadrid.com after the match, he said: “Thibaut has a lot of merit in this award because today he saved us, he has made a tremendous performance and this award is also his.”
The numbers fit that view. Courtois made seven saves, while Inter also put seven shots on target at the Bernabeu. That is a hard night to carry for any goalkeeper, and it left Madrid leaning on the very player Valverde singled out.
Valverde said Madrid had a “great first half” and that they were “always playing our game” before things changed after the break. Sportsmole quoted him saying, “We had a lot of chances, but we didn’t play our game. A lot of counterattacks, mistakes from them at the back… We created quite a few chances but we also suffered a lot.”
The second-half problem
The warning in Valverde’s comments is more interesting than the praise. Madrid created eight big chances, but they still needed Courtois to hold the line while the game got messy.
He also said the players were “not” patient enough on the ball and “rushed a lot when it came to defining the plays”. That lines up with the way the evening was described elsewhere: Madrid had enough to win, but not enough control to make the result feel comfortable.
There is also the selection issue that still sits in the background. Jose Mourinho has been trying Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside Valverde in midfield, with Arda Guler, Bernardo Silva and Eduardo Camavinga absent, so the shape remains a work in progress rather than a settled idea.
Valverde admitted as much when he said, “We have to be self-critical.” He added that it was important to win and regain confidence after the defeat to Real Betis, but he also said Madrid “didn’t play a great game” and that the players need to be “much clearer” when they are winning.
That feels like the right reading. Madrid got the result they needed, but Courtois was the reason the result stayed in their hands, and Valverde’s own words point straight to the problem that still needs sorting before the group stage starts to harden.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
