What's happened
Real Madrid have overturned a 3-2 deficit in the final six minutes at the Stadio Olimpico, scoring three goals from corners to beat Roma 4-3 in a dramatic Champions League group stage clash. Mbappe equalises, Malen nets twice, Espi and Endrick scores, Rudiger seals the win as Real move to six points from two games.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- Real Madrid’s late comeback hinges on set-piece execution, with three goals from corners showing vulnerability in Roma’s rearguard.
- Mbappe’s milestone night underscores his continued influence; his goal and offside calls shaped the first half, while Espi, Endrick and Rudiger completed the turnaround.
- The result reinforces Real Madrid’s title credentials early in the group phase, while Roma’s high-intensity approach remains a double-edged sword—exciting but brittle under late pressure.
How we got here
Roma led through Marten de Roon before Mbappe levelled for Real on his 100th Champions League appearance. Roma’s Malen struck twice early in the second half, but Real’s late surge, powered by set-pieces, turned the match.
Our analysis
Arab News: detailed match report; Al Jazeera: match summary and context; The Guardian: full recap with Mourinho’s Roma angle; Independent: summarises Madrid comeback and group implications.
Go deeper
- Will Roma rebound in their next group game and how will Mourinho adapt the defence to late set-piece threats?
- Can Real Madrid sustain this late-clinching form across the rest of the campaign?
- Which players in either side could shift momentum in the next fixture?
More on these topics
-
AS Roma - Football club
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as Roma, is an Italian professional football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence except for 1951–52.
-
Stadio Olimpico - Sports venue in Rome, Italy
Stadio Olimpico (pronounced [ˈstaːdjo oˈlimpiko]; English: Olympic Stadium), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after Milan's San Siro. It formerly had a capacity of over 100,000 people, and was also called Stadio dei Centomila (Stadium of the 100,000). It is owned by Sport e Salute, a government agency that manages sports venues, and its operator is the Italian National Olympic Committee. The Olimpico is located in northwestern Rome in the Foro Italico sports complex. Construction began in 1928 under Enrico Del Debbio and the venue was expanded in 1937 by Luigi Moretti. World War II interrupted further expansions; after the Liberation of Rome in June 1944, the stadium was used by the Allies as vehicle storage and as a location for Anglo-American military competitions. After the war, the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), appointed as operator of the venue, completed construction, and it was opened on 17 May 1953 with a football game between Italy and Hungary. Since opening, the stadium has been home...
-
Donyell Malen - Dutch footballer
Donyell Malen is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Malen has also featured at youth level for Ajax and Arsenal.
-
Marten de Roon - Dutch footballer
Marten Elco de Roon is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Atalanta and the Netherlands national team. He formerly played for Sparta Rotterdam, SC Heerenveen and Middlesbrough.
-
Italy - Country in Europe
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a sovereign country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands. Italy is located in south-central Europe, and is considered part of western Europe.
-
Thibaut Courtois - Belgian footballer
Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team.
-
Lovro Majer - Croatian footballer
Lovro Majer is a Croatian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club Rennes and the Croatia national team.
-
Gian Piero Gasperini - Italian football manager
Gian Piero Gasperini is an Italian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Italian side Atalanta.
-
Mario Hermoso Canseco - Spanish footballer
Mario Hermoso Canseco is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also operate as a left-back.