Inter's Champions League campaign got off to a painful start at the Bernabeu, where a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid exposed a troubling pattern of self-inflicted damage. The result was not a reflection of the performance as a whole. Cristian Chivu's side created enough to win, but individual errors from Jones, Bisseck, and goalkeeper Josep Martinez handed the game to the hosts. Martinez's mistake for the second goal has drawn the sharpest scrutiny, with reports already circulating that Ivan Provedel could replace him between the posts as early as Monday's Serie A fixture against Udinese.

The defeat stings more because of what Inter had built before it. Three consecutive league wins, including a dramatic 3-2 comeback against Napoli in which Lautaro Martinez scored twice, had placed the club joint-top of Serie A alongside Roma and Lazio on nine points from three games. That momentum now needs protecting.

Chivu faces the Udinese game without Federico Dimarco, who stayed behind in Milan with a knee problem and missed the Madrid trip entirely. Djed Spence, signed as a key summer addition, has yet to make his debut due to injury. The squad has depth, but the goalkeeper question and the defensive lapses at the Bernabeu are conversations that will not disappear quickly. How Chivu responds at San Siro on Monday will say a great deal about where this Inter side is headed.