For 80 minutes, José Mourinho’s homecoming in Rome was turning sour. Then Real Madrid found a weapon nobody expected to decide the night and rode it to victory by four goals to three at the Stadio Olimpico, coming back from two goals down in the final stretch.
Roma, in their first home Champions League game in over seven years, played with the swagger Gian Piero Gasperini had promised. Marten de Roon drilled in a long-range opener after 20 minutes. Madrid’s reply came from a defensive slip: Mario Hermoso misread a ball and Kylian Mbappé punished him. It was the Frenchman’s 100th appearance in the competition, making him the youngest to hit that mark at 27, and his 72nd goal lifted him past Raúl into fifth on the all-time list.
The second half began like a Roma party. Donyell Malen struck twice within seven minutes, first lifting the ball over Thibaut Courtois with a deft second touch and then racing clear for a goal that stood after a VAR check overturned an offside flag. At 3-1, the stadium was in full voice.
What followed was a set-piece masterclass. Carlos Espí poked home a loose ball from a short corner in the 83rd minute, Endrick headed in another corner two minutes later, and former Roma defender Antonio Rüdiger finished from close range in the 90th. That made it three dead-ball strikes inside seven crazy minutes.
After two rounds of the league phase, Madrid sit on maximum points while the Italians have collected a single one. The result capped a record-breaking round in which 78 goals were scored over two nights. For a coach who arrived under pressure, Mourinho could hardly have scripted a better evening against his old club.
