Jose Mourinho experienced a memorable reunion with Roma as Real Madrid pulled off an extraordinary comeback, netting three late goals to secure a 4-3 away victory in the Champions League on Wednesday. The match, hosted at the Stadio Olimpico, saw the home fans honor the Portuguese manager with banners and chants during their first home game in the competition in over seven years. Leading Roma to the UEFA Conference League title and an Europa League final during two-and-a-half years in charge, mourinho was a popular figure. Who emerged from the tunnel draped in blue-and-yellow national flags, fans of the club turned up in the thousands to support the team.
The hosts began aggressively, with Thibaut Courtois forced to make a sharp fingertip save early on against Mario Hermoso. Roma’s pressure paid off in the 20th minute when Marten de Roon fired a 25-yard shot past the goalkeeper. Shortly after, Donyell Malen nearly extended the lead, but his effort was cleared off the line. And almost doubled it when Malen’s powerful shot squirmed under Courtois before being plucked off the line, roma took a deserved lead when De Roon swept a shot past Courtois from 25 yards in the 20th minute. And he was true to his word as they came out firing after the break, but Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini insisted pre-match that Roma would not compromise on their full-throttle style regardless of opposition.
Real Madrid responded against the run of play when a defensive miscalculation by Hermoso allowed Kylian Mbappe a clear path to goal. The French star, marking his 100th Champions League appearance at age 27, slotted home to become the youngest player to reach that milestone and moved into the top five of the competition’s all-time scoring list with 72 goals. This equalizer steadied Madrid, who entered the break at 1-1.
Roma’s high-tempo approach continued after halftime. Substitute Rodrigo Mora set up Malen for a clinical second goal, and six minutes later, Malen struck again to put the hosts 3-1 ahead after a VAR review confirmed his positioning. Despite Real’s efforts, including a second goal from Mbappe being ruled offside, the game seemed to be slipping away from the visitors. Two Donyell Malen strikes in the space of six minutes early in the second half seemed to take the game away from the 15-time European champions as Roma ran rampant. However, one costly moment of switching off proved enough to send them back to square one within five minutes of the opener being scored. Given following a VAR review after initially being flagged for offside, things got even better for the Italians just six minutes later when Malen raced onto a through ball to power home his second.
The momentum shifted entirely during a frantic seven-minute period fueled by set-pieces. Carlos Espi pulled one back from a rebound before Endrick headed in from another corner. In the 90th minute, former Roma defender Antonio Rudiger completed the turnaround by guiding a close-range finish into the net. Real Madrid now holds six points from two matches, while Roma remains on one. Who twice threatened a second before the break as Marc Cucurella and Jude Bellingham came close, the equaliser appeared to subdue Roma and steady Mourinho’s men.
In other Champions League action, Shakhtar Donetsk marked their debut at Stamford Bridge with a 3-1 win over AEK Athens. Lovro Majer gave the Greeks the lead, but Pedrinho leveled from the penalty spot. Vinicius Tobias and substitute Gleiker Mendoza secured the win, leaving Shakhtar with four points.
Bodo/Glimt continued their dominant form at home with a 1-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund. Fredrik Sjovold scored the deciding goal in the 52nd minute, extending the Norwegian side’s strong record against European giants on their artificial turf.
Aston Villa enjoyed a historic night, recording their largest-ever European win with a 6-0 thrashing of Fenerbahce. Johan Manzambi opened the scoring, followed by a brace from Nicolas Jackson and two goals from Ross Barkley, before Tammy Abraham rounded out the scoreline. The result maintains Unai Emery’s side’s 100 percent start in the competition.
