The first round of the League Phase of the 2026-2027 Champions League begins tonight for a midweek entirely dedicated to the competition. And so, Inter will begin its adventure in the League Phase of the 2026-2027 Champions League at the Real Madrid stadium of former coach José Mourinho: the match will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu starting at 21:00.
After the extraordinary upset against Napoli in the last week of the championship, the neroli led by Cristian Chivu return to the most important European competition: after last season's bad elimination in the play-offs by Bodo-Glimt, the reigning Italian champions want to improve and return to the elite of European football. Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend against Betis, but Mourinho did not make "drama" and asked the entire environment to immediately look to the future.
It will be a special match especially for Mou, who in the pre-match press conference made his appearance by returning to Inter who won the historic Treble in their current stadium, on May 22, 2010. There are 19 matches between Inter and Real Madrid, with 10 Spanish wins against 7 black and blue victories. The referee of the match will be the Englishman Michael Oliver.
Possible formations.
REAL MADRID (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Dumfries, Huijsen, Konaté, Cucurella; Valverde, Tchouameni; Diomande, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr; Mbappé. Coach: J. Mourinho.
INTER (3-5-2): Martinez; Pavard, Stones, Cane; Diouf, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram. Coach: Chivu.
Previous encounters between the two teams in the Champions League
Inter and Real Madrid have faced each other 19 times, with the Spaniards winning 10 to the Blues' 7, with only two matches ending in a draw. The first historic encounter dates back to the 1963/64 Champions League final, when "Grande Inter" led by Helenio Herrera defeated Real 3-1 in the Vienna Prater, thanks to two goals from Mazzola. In subsequent years, the two teams faced each other three more times in European competitions, between the semi-finals and quarter-finals.
The duel became a classic of European football in the 1980s, with encounters in the Champions Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup. In the Champions League, the encounter returned in the group stage in the 1998/99 season: Real's 2-0 victory in Spain and an unforgettable 3-1 win for Inter at San Siro, signed by the magic of Roberto Baggio.
The most recent are the four Champions League meetings in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, all won by Real Madrid. However, none were played at the new Bernabéu: in 2020 Inter faced the Blancos at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium in Valdebebas, while in 2021 the Bernabéu was still under reconstruction.
Champions League - League Stage
18:45 AEK Athens - LASK
18:45 Club Brugge - Aston Villa
21:00 Borussia Dortmund - Villarreal
21:00 FC Porto - Man City
21:00 Lille - Real Betis
21:00 Real Madrid – Inter
