The Spanish Real Madrid made a dramatic comeback against its Italian host, Roma, after overturning a 1-3 deficit to a dramatic 4-3 win, on Wednesday, at the Olympic Stadium in the Italian capital, in the second round of the league stage in the Champions League.
Roma was on its way to achieving a valuable victory in its first home match in the continental competition in more than six years, after taking the lead with three goals scored by the Dutchmen Martin de Roon (20) and Donyiel Malen (51 and 57), versus a goal by the Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (25).
But Real Madrid, led by its Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, who returned to the stadium of his former team, rose up in the last minutes thanks to his decisive substitutions, scoring three consecutive goals through substitutes Carlos Espe (83), the Brazilian Indrik (85), and the German Antonio Rudiger (90).
Turkish Arda Guler played a prominent role in the Madrid comeback, after creating the equalizer and the winning goals from two corner kicks, as the royal team emerged with a victory that seemed unattainable before the final ten minutes.
The victory came to spare Real Madrid a new setback, after it was announced that its Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior was suspended for four matches due to his sending off against Villarreal in the Spanish League, last Saturday.
Vinicius participated as a starter, but did not perform as expected, so Mourinho decided to replace him in the 59th minute and include his compatriot Endrik, who became one of the most prominent stars of the match with his decisive contribution to turning the score around.
The confrontation witnessed a historic moment for Mbappe, who celebrated his 100th match in the Champions League by scoring his 72nd goal in the competition, strengthening his position as fifth in the ranking of historical scorers.
The French striker became the youngest player to reach the 100-game mark in the tournament, at the age of 27 years and 298 days, surpassing the previous record of Argentine Lionel Messi, who played his 100th match at the age of 28 years and 84 days with Barcelona in September 2015, and ironically, it was also against Roma.
Real Madrid raised its score to six points, achieving its second win in a row, after beginning its campaign by defeating Inter Milan 2-1, while Roma suffered its first loss after drawing with Fenerbahce in Turkey 1-1 in the opening round.
The Royal Club also strengthened its historical superiority over Roma, achieving its ninth victory in 13 matches between the two teams, all within the Champions League.
Roma was the better side at the beginning of the match, and threatened Belgian Thibaut Courtois' goal early through Spaniard Mario Hermoso and Argentine Matias Sole, before Paulo Dybala wasted a dangerous opportunity in the 12th minute.
De Roon succeeded in opening the scoring in the 20th minute with a powerful shot that hit Frenchman Ibrahima Konate's head and deceived Courtois, but Mbappe equalized five minutes later with a shot from outside the penalty area that went from Gianluca Mancini's foot into the net.
In the second half, Roma regained its lead through Malen in the 51st minute, after he took advantage of a pass from Portuguese Rodrigo Moura, before the same player added the third goal six minutes later with a powerful low kick.
Mourinho responded by fielding Guler and Endrik instead of Denzel Dumfries and Vinicius, in a move that revitalized Real Madrid's attack, which began to press in search of reducing the gap.
Roma goalkeeper Pierluigi Golini excelled in stopping two dangerous attempts from Mbappe, before Espy succeeded in scoring the second goal in the 83rd minute, taking advantage of a rebound from the goalkeeper following a header by Andrik.
Only two minutes later, Endrik equalized with a header from close range following a corner kick taken by Guler, before Rudiger delivered the final blow to his former team in the 90th minute, after following another corner kick from the Turkish player into the net.
Thus, Real Madrid completed one of its most prominent European comebacks, turning a two-goal deficit into an exciting victory in the final minutes, while Roma came out with a painful loss after being close to achieving a historic victory in front of its fans.
Dutchman Clarence Seedorf returned to the world of coaching after a seven-year absence, after the Brazilian club Corinthians presented him, on Wednesday, as the team's new coach, with a contract extending until the end of the 2027 season.
Seedorf (50 years old), who won the Champions League four times during his playing career, is facing a difficult challenge with one of the most popular clubs in Brazil, in light of the decline in results and the team's approaching relegation positions.
The appointment of the Dutch coach came as a surprise to the fans, as he was succeeded by Brazilian Fernando Diniz, the former coach of the national team, after a series of eight consecutive defeats in the league, which placed Corinthians in sixteenth place with 32 points from 30 matches.
Seedorf stressed that his absence from training since 2019 will not constitute an obstacle to his new mission, expressing his enthusiasm to return to the stadiums through the Brazilian club.
“It is a great opportunity for me,” he said during the press conference to introduce him. “Corinthians is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and opportunities like this do not happen every day.”
He added: “There are many talents in the team, and we will have time to analyze the competitors. Football is a global sport.”
Seedorf has a long career as a player, during which he played for Ajax, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Milan. He is the only player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs: Ajax, Real Madrid, and Milan.
As for the training level, he previously led Milan in Italy, Shenzhen in China, and Deportivo La Coruna in Spain, in addition to the Cameroon national team, with which his last training stop was in 2019.
The Brazilian league is no stranger to Seedorf, who has previously worn a Botafogo shirt during his playing career, and also speaks Portuguese fluently, which may help him quickly adapt to the club's atmosphere.
The Dutch coach will begin his new mission next Monday, when Corinthians hosts Vitoria at the New Quimica Arena, in a confrontation in which he seeks to stop the series of negative results and keep the team away from the danger zone.
Portuguese Jose Mourinho, the Spanish coach of Real Madrid, received an exceptional reception from the fans of his former team, Roma, on Wednesday, during his return to the “Olympico” stadium to face the capital club in the European Champions League football competitions.
Roma fans received the Portuguese coach with warm applause as soon as his name was announced over the loudspeakers during the presentation of the two teams' lineups, in a scene that reflected the special status he still holds among the Italian club's supporters.
The manifestations of honor were not limited to applause, as the ultras groups raised three huge banners bearing pictures of Mourinho during the first minutes of the match, one of which showed a picture of him raising the European Conference League Cup, which he won with Roma in 2022 at the end of his first season with the team.
This coronation represented a historic milestone for the Italian club, after ending long years of absence from continental titles, before Mourinho continued his European journey by leading Roma to the European League final in 2023.
Despite his departure from coaching the team in January 2024, without receiving an official farewell in the Italian capital, his relationship with Roma fans remained strong, which was embodied in the banners raised in his honor.
One of the banners carried the phrase: “Whoever brings glory to Rome, Rome will honor him forever, and the masses will glorify him forever.”
Mourinho's return to Roma came as part of his series of confrontations with his former Italian clubs in the Champions League this season, after he led Real Madrid to a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the opening round last month, benefiting from his team scoring two early goals.
