A largely good Inter performance was undone by its own mistakes at the Bernabéu, with Real Madrid ruthlessly punishing nerazzurri errors through Kylian Mbappé and Federico Valverde. Carlos Augusto's goal arrived too late to prevent defeat, fixing the final score at 2-1 despite a determined Inter response after going behind.
Speaking to Inter TV after the match, the Brazilian reflected on the difficulty of facing José Mourinho's side in such a prestigious stadium, while highlighting the character his team-mates had shown in refusing to give up until the final whistle.
"I want to thank my team-mates, it's never easy to play here. We tried to win, but the details make the difference," Carlos Augusto said.
"I'm happy with today's performance, just like the one against Napoli. We tried until the very end, we leave with our heads held high.
"I'm happy about the goal, even if it's bittersweet. The most important thing is to win matches. But we showed character, and we need to keep that in mind for the next ones. We showed our character. Great match, we did really well."
Andy Diouf offered a similar assessment, pointing to Inter Milan's own mistakes as the difference rather than a lack of quality or effort.
"We created a lot of chances and made two errors. We have to keep growing for the future," he told Inter TV. "It's not nice to start the match like that, but we have the quality to come back and react like we did against Napoli. Now we look ahead."
The result leaves Inter with plenty of positives to take forward despite the defeat, having created enough chances across the match to have taken something from the game against a Real Madrid side missing several first-team regulars through suspension.
Both players pointed to Inter's comeback win over Napoli before the international break as evidence the squad has the character to bounce back quickly, with Cristian Chivu's side now able to draw on that same resilience as they turn their attention to their next Champions League fixture and the resumption of their Serie A title defence.