# Mourinho, Inter and Champions League: Can he deliver again at Real Madrid?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mourinho-inter-and-champions-league-can-he-deliver-again-at-real-madrid/
- Published: 2026-09-08T17:57:12+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-09T00:07:33+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gqd5l72j8o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Europe, Sport, World

## Key points

- Mourinho makes Champions League return as Real Madrid boss, hosting Inter
- Bernabeu is where he won the 2010 final with Inter
- First spell (2010-13) yielded trophies but no Champions League title

## Summary

Jose Mourinho leads Real Madrid into their first Champions League fixture of the season on Tuesday, hosting Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu, the same ground where he won the trophy with Inter in 2010 before taking the Real Madrid job days later. The match matters as the first European test of his second spell in charge, and Mourinho has been at pains to insist his previous stint, which ended in 2013 without a Champions League title, is irrelevant to the present campaign, describing it as "a closed chapter".

During his first spell at the club Mourinho won La Liga in 2012 and the Copa del Rey in 2011, and reached three consecutive Champions League semi-finals, but was unable to progress further, losing to Barcelona, Bayern Munich on penalties and Borussia Dortmund. He returns to a squad he says endured a "very complicated season" and which lost to Real Betis at the weekend, a game in which Kylian Mbappe had a stoppage-time penalty saved; both Mourinho and Mbappe played down the defeat, with Mbappe adding he felt "very relaxed" about his own form and responsibility to score.

## Coverage

- [BBC Sport: Mourinho, Inter and Champions League: Can he deliver again at Real Madrid?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gqd5l72j8o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [The Guardian: Real Madrid v Inter, Millwall v Newcastle: Champions League and Carabao Cup – live](https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/08/real-madrid-v-inter-millwall-v-newcastle-champions-league-and-carabao-cup-live)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.