Real Madrid defeated Roma 4:3 in a breathtaking thriller at the "Olimpico" from the second round in the main phase of the Champions League.
The rivals exchanged a beautiful goal in the middle of the first half. Maarten de Roon (20'39;) opened the scoring for the hosts, and Kylian Mbappe (25'39;) equalized for the Spaniards. Shortly after the break, Donyell Malen (51'39;, 58'39;) capitalized on his good play in the first half with two quick goals that brought the Olympic stadium in the "Urbs Eterna" to its feet. Shortly after, Mbappe also scored for the second time, but his goal was disallowed for offside. Meanwhile, the "wolves" missed opportunities to decide everything, opening a four-goal gap, which cost them dearly, and in the final minutes the guests brought things to a draw after two quick goals by the reserves Carlos Espi (83') and Endrik (85'), and Rüdiger (90') formed the complete turnaround.
Over the weekend, Roma drew 0-0 with Como in Serie A, and compared to this match, Gian Piero Gasperini made only one change and Soule started in place of Pellegrini today.
In a La Liga match, the "white ballet" also faced a tough nut to crack and came to a painful 1-0 victory against Villarreal, with Jose Mourinho making three changes to his starting lineup. In place of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alvaro Carreras and Arda Guler from the match with the "yellow submarine" for the match at "Urbs Eterna" Denzel Dumfries, Mark Cucurreia and Vinicius Junior started.
The hosts started very inspired and reached two corners by the fourth minute. Before the second corner kick, Courtois had to intervene in an impressive way to save his goal from an early goal.
Furthermore, the guests tried to gain control of the ball and slowly organize their attacks, but this never happened. Instead, the Romans continued to control the initiative and, at a slower pace, continued to pressure their opponent. Only one ball kicked by the goalkeeper came dangerously close to the penalty area, but Wesley deflected it with his head in time and returned it to Golini.
In the 12th minute, the "wolves" had their big chance again. "The White Ballet" completely missed the inclusion of Dybala in the penalty shootout, who received a pass and simply had to punish Courtois, but he played extremely mediocre and pushed the ball very slightly, and it went out of bounds.
In the 17th minute, Gian Piero Gasperini had serious reasons for concern, as he had to make a forced substitution due to an injury to Manu Kone. Nicolo Pizzilli appeared in his place.
Very quickly, however, the home team coach had reasons to rejoice. Maarten de Roon decided not to stand on ceremony and instead of wondering and finding someone to pass to, he decided to make a Spartan shot, for which Thibaut Courtois was not prepared and the "Olimpic" stadium erupted.
In the 24th minute, Malen could have scored and miraculously a second goal was not scored after the ball literally walked along the goal line.
The miss turned out to be key, as in the counterattack, the "wolves" made their first serious defensive error and allowed Mbappe to deliver a fatal shot for the goalkeeper Golini, which got tangled in the net of his goal for 1:1.
In the 32nd minute, "Urbs Eterna" could have been silenced for the second time, after the "kings" made a beautiful combination with quick passes and Kukureya intercepted on the move, but the leather ball went out.
This development inspired the guests, who for the first time since the start of the match established pressure and after a prolonged attack they reached a corner. After that, the game concentrated in the middle of the field, where the "wolves" did not give up and often entered sharply, and the head referee François Letesquier still did not dare to show cards.
Shortly before the end of the half, the hosts tried to create new tension in front of Courtois' goal, but they did not get more than a corner after a pass from Malen, which Dybala never managed to reach. In added time, a combination of Vinicius and Bellingham in front of the other goal failed to turn the tables.
ROMA 3:3 REAL MADRID
1:0 Martin de Roon (20')
1:1 Kylian Mbappe (25')
2:1 Donyel Malen (51')
3:1 Donyel Malen (57')
3:2 Carlos Espi (84')
3:3 Endrik (86')
3:4 Rüdiger (90')
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, MAIN PHASE
II ROUND
STARTING LINE-UPS
Roma: 95. Pierluigi Gollini, 23. Gianluca Mancini, 5. Evan Ndika, 22. Mario Hermoso, 20. Matthias Soule, 15. Martin de Roon, 17. Manu Kone, 43. Wesley, 21. Paulo Dybala, 18. Matthias Soule, 14. Donyell Malen
Head coach: Gian Piero Gasperini
Real Madrid: 1. Thibaut Courtois, 24. Denzel Dumfries, 16. Ibrahima Konate, 22. Antonio Rudiger, 17. Marc Cucurreia, 8. Federico Valverde, 14. Aurelien Chuameny, 25. Yann Diomande, 5. Jude Bellingham, 10. Kylian Mbappe, 7. Vinicius Junior
Head Coach: Jose Mourinho