Real Madrid trailed 3-1 at Roma and still walked away with a 4-3 win, avoiding their first Champions League defeat of the season in a breathless night at the Olimpico on Wednesday evening in the second round of the league phase.
Twenty-four hours before Jose Mourinho returned to the Roma den, where he spent three years in charge of the Italian side, the Real Madrid coach was asked whether the match "would be special against Roma and Gasperini". The Portuguese replied that it "would be an ordinary match if he forgot who the opponent was", stressing that he would try to forget that.
Ordinary it was not. Real Madrid came within minutes of a disastrous defeat before flipping the whole thing on its head in six minutes, scoring three goals in a row as the hosts fell apart.
Los Blancos continue to own this fixture in the Italian capital, where they have now won six of their seven visits and lost once.
That is two wins from two in the Champions League for Mourinho's side, who opened their campaign by beating another Italian side, Inter Milan, 2-1. Roma are still waiting for a first victory after a 1-1 draw with Turkey's Fenerbahce.
| # | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | PTS | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | ||
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | ||
| 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 4 | ||
| 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | ||
| 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 | ||
| 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | ||
| 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | ||
| 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 | ||
| 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 | ||
| 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 | ||
| 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 | ||
| 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 3 | ||
| 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 3 | ||
| 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 1 | ||
| 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 | ||
| 27 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 1 | ||
| 28 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 1 | ||
| 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 0 | ||
| 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 | ||
| 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 | ||
| 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 | ||
| 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 0 | ||
| 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 0 | ||
| 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 | ||
| 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | -8 | 0 |
A surprise Italian attack
Roma came flying out, fed by a raucous Olimpico, and Real Madrid simply had to sit deep and survive it.
Thibaut Courtois kept the score down almost single-handedly. Without him Roma would have had three inside the opening quarter of an hour, and the visitors did not manage a shot at the Italian goal until the 12th minute.
An early blow hit the hosts when Kouadio Kone picked up an injury in the 17th minute and left the pitch in tears, with Niccolo Pisilli replacing him.
The Wolves got their reward in the 20th minute through Martin de Roon, who fired a rocket from outside the penalty area that deceived Courtois.
Five minutes later came the reply, Kylian Mbappe answering with a near-identical strike from outside the area.
Mourinho's changes craft the comeback
Real Madrid wanted an early second-half goal to spare themselves a nervy finish. The hosts had other ideas.
Donyell Malen struck six minutes after the restart, tearing away on a rapid counter after Courtois passed to Vinicius Junior and the Brazilian lost control of it.
Minutes later Malen had his second and Roma's third, pushing the lead to two goals with half an hour still to play.
A through ball sliced open the Real Madrid back line, Malen was suddenly one-on-one with Courtois, and he slotted it in with the minimum of fuss.
Mbappe thought he had hauled them back in on 68 minutes, clean through and finishing, but the flag went up against the France star.
Carlos Espi then found a way through. The substitute followed up a rebound off the goalkeeper inside the six-yard box in the 82nd minute to cut the deficit.
Five minutes from the end of normal time, the other substitute, Endrick, met a well-placed corner and headed in the third to level it.
With everyone settling for a draw, Antonio Rudiger turned another corner into the net in the final minute of normal time and took all three points.