Two goals from Real Madrid's press, 21 shots against, and Courtois to hold it together.
The numbers
| Real Madrid | FC Internazionale Milano | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 36% | 64% |
| Shots | 16 | 21 |
| On target | 8 | 7 |
| xG | 2.76 | 1.83 |
| Corners | 4 | 11 |
Result the chances deserved: Real Madrid 58% / 18% / FC Internazionale Milano 25% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois, Dumfries, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella, Alexander-Arnold, Valverde, Brahim, Bellingham, Vinícius Jr, Mbappé.
FC Internazionale Milano (3-5-2): Josep Martínez, Pavard, Bisseck, Bastoni, Diouf, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Jones, Carlos Augusto, Lautaro, Thuram.
Inter subs: Stones (46', Pavard), Sučić, Zieliński & Bonny (60'), Mkhitaryan (83'). Inter manager: Cristian Chivu. Güler, Bernardo Silva and Camavinga were suspended, so Alexander-Arnold played in midfield. Reports disagree on which Inter players the three 60th-minute changes replaced.
Key moments, move by move
- FC Internazionale Milano build from the back. Alexander-Arnold follows Curtis Jones, and Jones's pass back to Bisseck is poor.
- Mbappé, who had left that pass open, sprints at Bisseck and forces a bad touch.
- Brahim gets to the loose ball first and pokes it through.
- Mbappé runs clear and finishes low past Josep Martínez.
- Pavard plays the ball back to Josep Martínez.
- Valverde starts towards Barella, then keeps running at the goalkeeper.
- Martínez tries to turn away from him in his own six-yard box and loses the ball.
- Valverde pokes it into the empty net with his left foot.
- Bisseck carries the ball into the space on FC Internazionale Milano's right.
- He combines with Lautaro, who gets to the byline.
- Lautaro pulls the ball back across the six-yard box.
- Carlos Augusto, arriving from the far side, sweeps it past Courtois from about six yards.
A pressing trap on Bisseck, then counter-attacks
- The trap: Real Madrid sat in a 4-2-3-1 with Alexander-Arnold and Valverde staying central. Mbappé left the pass into Bisseck open on purpose and sprinted at him once it was played (Between the Posts). The opening goal came from exactly that.
- Pressing by the whole front line: Valverde made 29 pressures, Bellingham 26 and Vinícius 21. Vinícius also made nine ball recoveries, six in Real Madrid's half (Managing Madrid). The second goal came from Valverde running at the goalkeeper.
- Very little of the ball: 35.6% possession was Real Madrid's lowest in a home Champions League group or league-phase match since 2003-04. They still had five shots from fast breaks and nine big chances, seven of them missed (Opta Analyst).
- The cost: FC Internazionale Milano had 21 shots, the most by an away side against Real Madrid in the competition's group/league stage since 2004. They pushed Carlos Augusto and Diouf wide against Madrid's full-backs, and Courtois made seven saves.
Recreate it in FM26
Real Madrid · Mourinho's mid-block trap and fast breaks · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Mourinho's mid-block trap and fast breaks
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Courtois | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Dumfries | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Konaté | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Huijsen | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LB | Cucurella | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RDM | Alexander-Arnold | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Valverde | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Brahim | Wide Playmaker | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Bellingham | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Vinícius Jr | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Mbappé | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- TempoHigher
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Pressing TrapActive
- Trigger PressBalanced
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
The idea: Sit in a mid block, let the opponent play into their weakest centre-back, then press and break at once. You need a very fast striker and a hard-working number 10 who presses.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't script Valverde's disguised run from Barella onto the goalkeeper that made the second goal.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Tchouaméni on at 60' (for Alexander-Arnold). Keep the mid-block trap but add a proper holding midfielder, then bring Tchouaméni on for Alexander-Arnold at the hour. Real Madrid keep their breaks and give FC Internazionale Milano fewer free shots. It moves Real Madrid's win chance from 58% to 67% (xG 2.76–1.83 becomes 2.71–1.33). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Real Madrid needed
Aurélien Tchouaméni
FC Internazionale Milano's 21 shots came from getting past Real Madrid's first line and finding space around a makeshift midfield. Tchouaméni is the squad's natural screen: starting him beside Valverde lets Alexander-Arnold stay at right-back or out, and Madrid can still press and break.
Martín Zubimendi
Real Madrid's plan needed a midfielder who holds the centre while the front four press. Zubimendi reads passing lanes, rarely leaves his zone and passes simply under pressure: exactly the job Alexander-Arnold was asked to do out of position.
What the analysts said
“I found the match crazy, a kind of madness I don't much care for. I prefer to be able to score five, six, or seven, but with absolute control and without needing an absolutely incredible goalkeeper.”José Mourinho (Opta Analyst)
“Pressing is something you train for; choosing the moments to press, how to press, where to press.”José Mourinho (Yahoo Sports)
“The most important thing is how you react after a mistake. He responded like a top-level goalkeeper: he did not lose concentration and made several brilliant saves.”Cristian Chivu, on Josep Martínez (ProSport)
“We were unable to make the most of all the chances we created.”Lautaro Martínez (theScore)
Madrid won the pressing moments and lost almost everything else.
What's happening. Madrid beat Inter 2–1, but Inter had 64% of the ball and 21 shots, and Courtois made seven saves. Mourinho said he didn't like needing an incredible goalkeeper.
How it works. Both goals came from the plan: sit in a mid block, let Inter pass into their weakest centre-back, then press and break at once. Mbappé left the pass into Bisseck open on purpose and sprinted at him. When the trap didn't spring, Inter got past the first line again and again, usually out wide. Three suspensions forced Alexander-Arnold into midfield, and it showed.
What the shots say. There is no public shot-level xG for this game, so we built it from the play-by-play with our own model. It gives Madrid the win about seven times in ten, because their few chances were very good. They made four big chances and scored none; both goals came from Inter mistakes.