Bernardo Silva will watch the biggest night of his early Real Madrid career from the stands. The summer signing is one of three midfielders unavailable for Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Inter at the Santiago Bernabéu, banned under UEFA’s carry-over rule for a red card he was shown while playing for Manchester City against Real Madrid in last season’s round of 16.
The Portuguese was dismissed for deliberately handling the ball on the line, and Vinícius Júnior converted the resulting penalty. UEFA scrubs yellow cards between seasons but carries reds forward, so Bernardo Silva sits out the fixture that would have marked his continental debut for his new club.
Arda Güler and Eduardo Camavinga complete the trio. Both were sent off in the quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich last season, a 4-3 defeat that ended Real Madrid’s European campaign. Güler’s second booking came after the final whistle for complaining to the referee, Camavinga’s in the closing stages.
Mourinho’s ten-goal start before Inter
Mourinho arrives at Tuesday’s fixture with three wins from three. His side beat Espanyol 2-1 on opening weekend through a late Carlos Espí winner, then hit Real Sociedad 4-1 and Málaga 4-0. It is the first time since 2016-17 that Real Madrid have scored ten goals through their opening three league matches, and Mourinho had never previously won his first three La Liga games during his 2010-2013 spell at the club.
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“Not everything in football is to have fun with the beauty of goals,” Mourinho said after the Málaga win, in remarks reported by Siempre Madrid.
“It’s good to go home with the feeling that there is a block, a team.”
Chivu’s Inter arrive as Italian champions
Inter come to Madrid as reigning Serie A champions, having completed a domestic double in Chivu’s first season in charge. The Romanian coach, a defender in Inter’s 2010 treble-winning side under Mourinho, now faces his former manager in his first Champions League game as Inter head coach.
The tactical question for Mourinho, according to Football España, is who partners Federico Valverde in midfield with three first-choice options unavailable and Aurélien Tchouaméni’s fitness described as uncertain.
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Kick-off at the Bernabéu is at 9pm local time on Tuesday, 8 September.
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