Roma were 3-1 up on Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the 83rd minute, and three Güler set pieces turned it into a 4-3 win

José Mourinho’s first game back at the Stadio Olimpico since Roma sacked him looked like it was going to be a bad night for him. Donyell Malen scored twice early in the second half, and Roma were still 3-1 up on Real Madrid going into the 83rd minute. Then Carlos Espí, Endrick and Antonio Rüdiger scored in seven minutes, all three from Arda Güler set pieces, and Madrid won 4-3.

It is two wins from two in the Champions League for Mourinho’s side. Roma, who had waited since 2019 for a home game in the competition, have one point.

Mbappé on his 100th appearance

Roma took the lead in the 20th minute. Marten de Roon hit a shot from the edge of the box, it took a deflection, and Thibaut Courtois was beaten. Five minutes later Kylian Mbappé levelled with a long-range shot that was also deflected on the way past Pierluigi Gollini, who was in goal for the injured Mile Svilar.

It was Mbappé’s 100th Champions League game. At 27 he is the youngest player to reach that number, and the goal took him past Raúl on the competition’s all-time scoring list.

Roma lost Manu Koné to injury before the 20-minute mark. Marc Cucurella and Jude Bellingham both went close for Madrid in the first half, but six minutes after the restart Rodrigo Mora intercepted a pass from Vinícius Júnior and set up Malen to make it 2-1. Malen added a second shortly before the hour, from a Matías Soulé pass, after a VAR check overturned an offside flag.

Endrick changes it

Mourinho took off Vinícius straight after Roma’s third goal and sent on Endrick. Mbappé had a goal ruled out for a tight offside, and for a while it looked like that would be that.

It wasn’t. In the 83rd minute Güler’s corner was headed at goal by Endrick, Gollini could only parry it, and Espí, also on as a substitute, pushed in the rebound. That one was given after a review too. Two minutes later Endrick headed in another Güler corner to make it 3-3. Bellingham headed one more just wide, and then Rüdiger, who played two seasons for Roma, finished from a third Güler corner for the winner.

“At 3-1, everyone thought we were done for, but then it was they who ended up tiring,” Mourinho said. About Endrick he was more direct: “I know the talent he possesses. The Roma defenders were tired and couldn’t stop him.”

The winner came against Rüdiger’s old club. “I’m happy to have scored the winning goal. Of course, it’s a bittersweet feeling, but that’s football,” he said. “Roma will always hold a special place in my heart.”

What it means

Federico Valverde put it best. “If we had done our job properly from the start, it would have been a much less complicated game,” he said. Madrid have six points, but they were 3-1 down to a Roma side playing without their first-choice keeper, and they needed three set pieces to get out of it.

For Roma, it hurts more than a normal defeat. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were unbeaten in Serie A coming into this, and for 80 minutes they were better than Madrid. They have a draw at Fenerbahçe and this to show for two games. I think they will be fine in this league phase. That doesn’t make it any easier this morning.

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