Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s win over Inter Milan (Picture: Getty) Steve McManaman claims Real Madrid fans turned on Vinicius Junior during their hard-fought Champions League win over Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho’s side kick-started their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Serie A champions Inter on Tuesday night. Real Madrid were far from at their best but took control in the first-half through goals from Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde. Inter Milan dominated possession throughout the match and Madrid’s lack of control caused huge tension inside the Bernabeu. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The whistles from the home fans grew louder and louder as Real Madrid failed to put the game to bed and McManaman felt some of the anger was directed at Vinicius. The Brazilian winger has endured a slow start to the new season after a summer in which he was heavily linked with a move to Premier League champions Arsenal. ‘You can hear the whistles at Vinicius Junior,’ former Real Madrid midfielder McManaman said on TNT Sports after the 26-year-old gave the ball away in the second half. Real Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-1 at the Bernabeu (Picture: Getty) ‘Listen to that… they are not happy with Vini Junior at all. He certainly has a love-hate relationship with the fans.’ The frustration inside the Bernabeu only increased when Inter Milan pulled a goal back on 77 minutes through Carlos Augusto. Inter then hit the woodwork as they chased an equaliser but ultimately returned to Italy empty-handed, with Madrid beginning their Champions League campaign with a narrow win. Jose Mourinho during Madrid’s European win (Picture: Getty) Vinicius’ late substitution was met by a mixed reaction by the Madrid fans but Mourinho made a point of applauding the Brazilian as he made his way off the pitch. Asked about Vinicius’ performance after the game, Mourinho said: ‘He worked hard – incredibly hard. ‘I know it, we all know it, and he knows it – he isn’t quite sharp yet – he isn’t quite ‘Vinicius’ yet –but he works hard, and anyone who works hard and gives their all deserves respect.’ Full-time scenes at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start! 👏📺 Watch live on TNT Sports & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/CsUfcz29sg— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 8, 2026 Discussing Real Madrid’s win more generally, Mourinho added: ‘I prefer to call this a crazy match – generally, there’s so much criticism when a game is boring, but today it was crazy – it could easily have ended 7-6. ‘We had a depleted midfield, Inter made substitutions very early on, and I didn’t have many options for midfield. ‘I made changes when I saw the players were struggling, but I think they did a great job. It certainly wasn’t boring. ‘We had the chance to make it 3-0 in the final minute of the first half. I want to give credit to my players because pressing is something you train for and [Federico] Valverde’s goal is the result of hard work. ‘It’s one thing that neither you nor they have control of the match – and I’d say our opponent didn’t have it either. ‘[Thibaut] Courtois made a lot of saves, but how many chances did we miss in transition? It was a great match.’ Next up for Real Madrid in the Champions League are RB Leipzig, while Inter Milan will look to bounce back against Club Brugge. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
