The guide to Real Madrid v Inter: the group, previous meetings and our last trip to the Bernabeu

INTER AND REAL MADRID REACH LAST 16 – FIRST PLACE UP FOR GRABS

On Tuesday 7 December at 21:00 CET, Real Madrid and Inter will do battle on Matchday 6 in Group D in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu. Both teams have already secured a place in the last 16, having ensured that Sheriff and Shakhtar cannot catch them in the standings, with the clash in Madrid set to reveal who will head through as group-winners and who will qualify in second place.

Real Madrid sit atop Group D on 12 points ahead of Simone Inzaghi’s Inter on ten. A win for the visitors is the only way for them to leapfrog Carlo Ancelotti’s side. A draw or defeat would see Real top the group.

Group D: Real Madrid 12, Inter 10, Sheriff 6, Shakhtar Donetsk 1.

TEAMS IN THE LAST 16 AND THE DRAW

Ahead of the final set of group games, 11 teams have already sealed their berth in the last 16 of the Champions League, with the draw set to take place at 12:00 CET on Monday 13 December. There will be two pots, one for the eight group-winners and one for the eight teams that finish second. Clubs cannot be drawn against a team of the same nationality or that was in the same group.

Qualified for the round of 16: Ajax*, Bayern*, Chelsea, Inter, Juventus, Liverpool*, Manchester City*, Manchester United*, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Sporting CP*As group-winners

Can still qualify for the round of 16: Milan, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Benfica, LOSC Lille, Porto, Salzburg, Sevilla, Villarreal, Wolfsburg.

Qualified for the UEFA Europa League knockout stage: Borussia Dortmund, Sheriff, Zenit.

Cannot qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League but can still qualify for the UEFA Europa League: Club Brugge, Leipzig, Young Boys.

THE LAST TIME INTER PLAYED AT THE BERNABEU: THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TRIUMPH It will be Inter’s first game back at the Santiago Bernabeu since the glorious Champions League final on 22 May 2010 when a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich took the Nerazzurri to the summit of European football.

The two teams did meet in the group stage in 2020/21, but due to construction work at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid played their home fixture at Valdebebas.

The last time Inter faced Los Blancos at the Bernabeu was on 16 April 1986 when the hosts registered a 5-1 win to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg at San Siro in the UEFA Cup semi-finals. The Champions League group clash on 16 September 1998 saw the hosts run out 2-0 winners in Seville (click here for the remarkable story behind the game being played in Andalusia) thanks to a penalty by Fernando Hierro and a goal by Clarence Seedorf.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Rodrygo scored the only goal of the game when the two sides met at San Siro in September. Tuesday’s clash will be the 19th meeting between the two clubs. Inter have racked up seven wins in the previous 18 fixtures, drawing two and losing nine times to Los Blancos. The Nerazzurri last tasted victory over Real Madrid at San Siro in 1998 when Ivan Zamorano scored one and Roberto Baggio bagged a brace).

The standout meeting between the clubs has to be the Nerazzurri’s 3-1 victory in the 1964 European Cup final in Vienna.

REAL MADRID TRAINING: BENZEMA OUT

There were three absentees from Real Madrid training on Monday. Carlo Ancelotti confirmed after the win over Real Sociedad that Karim Benzema would miss the game. Gareth Bale and Dani Ceballos both trained individually.

MATCH UPDATES

As always, there will be updates and live pre-match coverage on Inter TV bringing you all the latest from the Santiago Bernabeu. There will be reaction and interviews with all the key figures straight after the final whistle.