Spain's Real Betis continued its perfect start in the Champions League, after overcoming a deficit against its Portuguese guest, Porto, to a thrilling 3-2 victory on Wednesday evening, in the second round of the league stage.
The second half witnessed the scoring of five goals, as Moroccan Abdel Samad Zalzouli opened the scoring for the hosts in the 47th minute, before Porto rose up and turned the result in their favor with two goals scored by Gabriel Vega and Samuel Omorodion in the 55th and 61st minutes, respectively.
Betis refused to give in to being behind, and Juan Hernandez succeeded in equalizing in the 74th minute, before veteran Isco decided the confrontation for the Spanish team by scoring the third goal from a penalty kick in the 84th minute, giving the home team three valuable points.
With this victory, Real Betis raised its score to six points, achieving the full score from two matches, to occupy ninth place in the league stage standings, and confirm its strong start in the continental championship.
On the other hand, Porto, which won the European title in 1987 and 2004, continued its disappointing results after suffering its second loss in a row, leaving it without points in thirtieth place.
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 Malin 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 shot.
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 succeeds 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.
