Champions League: Thrilling Comeback Saves Real Madrid from a Crushing Defeat at Maracanã

Spanish club Real Madrid staged a thrilling comeback, overturning a daunting 3-1 deficit to defeat hosts AS Roma 4-3 on Wednesday at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico in the second matchday of the unified group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Roma were playing their first home match in the continental competition in over six years and appeared poised for a Dutch-style victory when they took a three-goal lead through Martin de Roon (20th minute) and Donyell Malen (51st and 57th minutes), against a single goal from French striker Kylian Mbappé (25th minute). However, they collapsed in the final minutes due to the changes made by “The Special One,” José Mourinho.

Substitutes Carlos Ibáñez (83rd minute) and Brazilian Endrick (85th minute), along with former Roma defender Antonio Rüdiger (90th minute), scored three goals, with two decisive assists coming from corner kicks taken by the other substitute, Turkish international Arda Güler.

Real Madrid escaped a humiliating defeat following the blow they had already suffered before the match: the suspension of their Brazilian international striker Vinícius Júnior for four games after his red card in Saturday’s La Liga match against Villarreal.

Vinícius started the match but failed to provide justification for his continued presence on the pitch. Mourinho substituted him in the 59th minute, bringing on his compatriot Endrick, who drew significant attention during the minutes he played.

Meanwhile, Mbappé celebrated his 100th appearance in the competition by scoring his 72nd goal, consolidating his position fifth on the tournament’s all-time scoring list.

Mbappé became the youngest player in the history of the competition to reach this symbolic milestone (100 matches). According to UEFA statistics, the 27-year-old, who was 27 years and 298 days old when he entered the Stadio Olimpico, broke the record previously held by Argentine Lionel Messi, who was 28 years and 84 days old when he played his 100th match in the competition for Spanish club Barcelona in September 2015, also against Roma.

This was Real Madrid’s second victory in the competition, achieved narrowly after they beat Inter, the former club of their manager Mourinho, 2-1 in the first matchday. Meanwhile, Roma suffered their first defeat after a valuable 1-1 draw with Turkish hosts Fenerbahçe.

It was also Real Madrid’s ninth win against Roma in 13 meetings, all in the Champions League (one draw and three losses).

Roma started the match with the upper hand and threatened Real Madrid’s towering goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on several occasions. The first came from a shot by Spanish defender Mario Hermoso from inside the box, which the Belgian international pushed out for a corner (4th minute). Another long-range effort from Argentine Matías Soulé was saved by Courtois with two touches (5th minute).

Malen nearly equalized with a powerful shot that Courtois saved with two touches, stopping it just before it crossed the goal line (24th minute).

Mbappé leveled for the royal club with a strong right-footed shot from outside the box that deflected off captain Gianluca Mancini and found the back of the net, past goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini (25th minute), marking his seventh goal across all competitions this season.

Mbappé nearly reduced the deficit again with a curling shot from inside the box, which Gollini pushed out for a corner that did not result in a goal (62nd minute).

Ibáñez reduced the deficit when he capitalized on a rebound from Gollini following an Endrick header, finishing inside the net (83rd minute). Endrick then equalized with a close-range header from a Güler corner kick (85th minute), and Rüdiger scored the winning goal by finishing a Güler corner kick with a close-range right-footed shot (90th minute).