Inter v Real Madrid in numbers

Inter are set to take on Real Madrid at 21:00 CEST on Wednesday in the team’s first Champions League Group D clash, with Sheriff Tiraspol hosting Shakhtar Donetsk in the early kick-off.

LIMITED TICKETS REMAINING: COME TO SAN SIRO TO WATCH INTER V REAL MADRID

PREVIOUS MEETINGS BETWEEN INTER AND REAL MADRID

Inter and Real Madrid have met on 17 previous occasions. The first and most memorable clash for the Nerazzurri was the 1964 European Cup final at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. Sandro Mazzola bagged a brace either side of Aurelio Milani’s goal in a 3-1 win to clinch glory in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time.

In those 17 clashes, Inter have won seven, drawn two and lost eight, racking up 21 goals and conceding 25. The two most recent meetings were in last season’s Champions League group stage, with Real Madrid emerging victorious on both occasions.

11 of the games have come in the Champions League or European Cup, two were in the defunct Cup Winners’ Cup and four were in the UEFA Cup. Particularly during the 1960s and 1980s, Inter v Real Madrid was one of the showpiece fixtures in European football.

There have been nine clashes at San Siro, with the Nerazzurri coming out on top in six of them, while two ended all square and Real Madrid’s 2-0 win last season is their only success on the road in this fixture to date.

INTER'S RECORD AGAINST SPANISH TEAMS

The Nerazzurri have faced Spanish clubs 52 times in European competitions, with a record of 15 wins, 13 draws and 24 defeats. Wednesday’s game will be the 25th time that Inter have hosted Spanish opposition at San Siro, having racked up nine victories, 11 stalemates and four losses.

Los Blancos have won their last six European matches in Italy and have not conceded a goal on Italian soil since Dries Mertens put Napoli ahead in the 24th minute on 7 March 2017 in a clash that the visitors went on to win 3-1. Their results since that knockout tie make for impressive reading: Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid, Roma 0-2 Real Madrid, Inter 0-2 Real Madrid, Atalanta 0-1 Real Madrid.

FAMILIAR FACES

Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Joaquin Correa all faced Real Madrid during their LaLiga days. While at Barcelona, the Chilean forward scored three times against Los Blancos, whereas Vidal found the net once.

There are plenty of potential reunions for team-mates at international level: Aleksandar Kolarov and Luka Jovic (Serbia), Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric (Croatia), Matias Vecino and Federico Valverde (Uruguay).

Vidal and Toni Kroos were team-mates at Bayer Leverkusen in 2009/10, while Perisic and Alaba both played for Bayern Munich in 2019/20.

Thibaut Courtois is set to come up against Nicolo Barella for the first time since the midfielder scored against the shotstopper in Italy’s 2-1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals of the Euros in July.

REAL MADRID'S FORM

The Merengues currently sit top of the table in Spain with three wins and a draw from four games. Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who beat Celta Vigo 5-2 on Sunday thanks to a hat-trick by Karim Benzema, have scored 13 goals and conceded six in the league so far. Benzema (five goals) is currently top of the scoring charts ahead of Vinicius Jr (four), while Nacho, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale all have a goal apiece.