Roma 3-4 Real Madrid
José Mourinho’s Real Madrid are in a strong position to advance from the league stage of the Champions League, after a remarkable 4-3 victory in Rome which saw them score three times in the final seven minutes.
Real trailed Roma 3-1 as the clock ticked past 82 minutes, but goals from substitutes Carlos Espi (83’) and Endrick (85’) levelled the score at 3-3, before Antonio Rudiger scored in the final minute to condemn his former club to a heartbreaking defeat, while putting Mourinho’s men on six points from their opening two games.
The sides went into the break level at 1-1 after Marten de Roon’s opener for Roma was cancelled out by Kylian Mbappé. After the interval, Roma’s teenage Portuguese Rodrigo Mora, who had been introduced at half time, made an early impact by sliding a pass through for Donyell Malen to restore Roma’s advantage.
Both of Roma’s opening two goals came amid sloppy play by Real inside their own half and the match looked in danger of getting away from the Spaniards when Malen added another to make it 3-1 on 57 minutes. Mourinho responded by making a host of changes, including the introduction of Bernardo Silva as well as subsequent goalscorers Espi and Endrick.
Madrid’s comeback, sealed by Rudiger, left the Italian capital stunned, but Mourinho admitted during his post-match press conference that the early stages of the match had been a disaster. In typical Mourinho fashion, the Portuguese led with an opening declaration which likely had a tinge of facetiousness, before suggesting he anticipated the final stages.
“The coach is responsible for the poor first half, and the players are responsible for the excellent second half,” Mourinho said. “In my mind, as a principle, I always do things right and never think about doing them wrong. I always think about meritocracy, but football is a 90-minute game, and at the highest level, it’s strategic. Opponents matter and they play, and today’s opponent was a very strong and formidable team.
“I knew we were running out of steam. It’s impossible to play 90 minutes at their pace. I made the changes I thought I needed to make, but I have to say that in the first half they overwhelmed us and surprised us with Soulé’s wide positioning. Cucurella couldn’t track Wesley and was constantly two against one.
“In the second half, we reorganised, and when we were finally settled, we conceded a goal we shouldn’t have. Then came the third, and if they’d scored four or five, they’d say I was crazy. We won 4-3, and they’re saying I played terribly in the first half with the team I fielded. That’s football. In the end, [against] Inter and Roma, the two strongest teams in Italy, we have six points.
“As I said before, six points and six points is half the battle for qualification. It’s not over yet, but we already have six points. And this is important for us. There are six matches left and we already have six points. We’ve played against the two top Italian teams. Very good for us.
I knew I could change it - Mourinho
“There are moments and moments. There’s strategy. Sometimes the coach is an idiot because he thinks strategically poorly. Other times a coach is very good because he thinks it through well. I thought, look, I’m not going to be a genius and say I had everything planned to go from 3-1 to 4-3. It’s not true. But I genuinely thought that in the last 20 minutes I had changes I could make, changes that could change things for me.
“For example, I told the players that it’s very difficult for someone like Mancini, who plays man-to-man, not to get a yellow card. And when he does, he either stays on the field with a yellow card, or he’s substituted. And it’s something... They have five defenders and another five on the bench.
“Why? Because of the way they play, man-to-man, they have many difficult situations where a player pushes, commits a foul, things that get you a yellow card.
“Physically, up against Diomande Hermoso was fading. And when Hermoso is running out of gas, Endrick comes in.
“Give me some credit too.”
The night was also notable for the welcome afforded to Mourinho by the Roma fans, who showed great appreciation for his time managing the club, during which the Giallorossi lifted the Europa Conference League in 2022.
