Real Madrid overturned their deficit at the Olimpico to beat Roma on a night nobody saw coming, and Jose Mourinho afterwards lifted the lid on a complex tactical battle.
Mourinho said in the post-match press conference: "We faced a difficult opponent who play a different style, relying heavily on man-marking at high intensity. They deserved to go ahead, even though I wasn't happy with the two goals we conceded. But we achieved an important win that gave us 6 points against two difficult Italian opponents, and put us in a very good position."
Fede Valverde had suggested the team only executed its plan once the substitutions arrived. Mourinho wasn't having it. "I don't entirely agree with Valverde, because the opponent faced us with a different positioning from all their previous matches that we analysed. They attacked us with three players down the right-hand side, with a player on the flank preventing us from pushing up to press Wesley."
The Portuguese then explained the tweaks that sparked the comeback: "That's why I was talking a lot with Tchouameni during the first half to make the necessary adjustments, and when the second half began I felt the team had become more stable. But we conceded a goal we should not have conceded because of what we did in midfield, then the opponent took advantage of the attacking transition and scored."
He added: "After that we showed an organised fighting spirit, and it was an emotional reaction within a tactical framework that helped us a great deal. I know very well how Gasperini's teams play because I spent many years in Italy, but he surprised us with his attacking plan down the right-hand side. Even so, there are no miracles in football, and it is difficult to maintain that intensity for all 90 minutes."
Asked whether Valverde on the right with Arda Guler in midfield could become a permanent fix after working against Villarreal, Mourinho kept it brief: "Every match is different from the next."