Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid secured a narrow 2-1 victory over his former side Inter Milan in a high-octane Champions League opener on Tuesday. The record 15-time European champions took a two-goal lead through Kylian Mbappe and Fede Valverde thanks to two Inter errors in the first half. Carlos Augusto smashed home for Cristian Chivu’s team in the second half but they could not find an equaliser in a pulsating battle at the Santiago Bernabeu.  Madrid coach Mourinho led the Italian side to Champions League glory in 2010 at the same stadium, the last time either they or he managed to lift the trophy, a few days before joining Los Blancos for his first stint at the helm.

After two seasons without a major trophy and enduring early European exits, Madrid president Florentino Perez brought back the Portuguese veteran to try and stop the rot, and Mourinho got the team off to both a triumphant and entertaining start to the league phase.

Mourinho’s side bounced back from a first defeat of the season at Real Betis in La Liga on Friday, although goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made several smart saves and Inter were wasteful.

“It was a crazy game,” Mourinho told Movistar.

“Often there’s criticism when a match is boring and today it was a crazy game.

“A game that finished 2-1 could have finished 7-6 without any problems.”

Mourinho admitted his team struggled to control the game but said Inter were incapable of doing so either.

“If you don’t have control and they have it, it’s a very difficult situation,” he continued.

“However, if you don’t have it and they don’t have it… Courtois made a lot of saves, but how many chances did we not take?… It was a great game.”

The Italians started energetically in attack but were destabilised by two grievous errors at the back. Madrid stopper Courtois denied Marcus Thuram and then Lautaro Martinez as the visitors probed.