The 21:00 local kick-off at the Olimpico (20:00 BST) marked José Mourinho's return to Rome as Real Madrid manager. ESPN's match report noted a banner in the home end showing him with the Conference League trophy he won during a three-year spell in charge of Roma. Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma lined up 3-4-2-1, with Paulo Dybala, Matías Soulé and Donyell Malen among the starters; Real Madrid played 4-2-3-1, with Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande in the side.
How Real Madrid came back from 3-1 down
Roma led twice and were still two goals up going into the 83rd minute. The goals, in order:
- 20' Roma 1-0 Real Madrid: Marten de Roon, a shot from outside the box into the top of the net, set up by Matías Soulé.
- 25' Roma 1-1 Real Madrid: Kylian Mbappé, a right-footed shot from outside the box, from Yan Diomande's headed pass.
- 51' Roma 2-1 Real Madrid: Donyell Malen, a left-footed shot from the left side of the box, set up by Rodrigo Mora.
- 57' Roma 3-1 Real Madrid: Malen again, a right-footed finish from the center of the box after a fast break and a through ball from Soulé; the goal was given after a VAR review.
- 83' Roma 3-2 Real Madrid: Carlos Espí, a right-footed shot from very close range after a corner, also confirmed by VAR.
- 85' Roma 3-3 Real Madrid: Endrick, a header from the center of the box into the bottom left corner, from Arda Güler's cross after a corner.
- 90' Roma 3-4 Real Madrid: Antonio Rüdiger, a right-footed shot from very close range, again from a Güler cross after a corner.
Mbappé's equalizer came in his 100th Champions League match. According to ESPN, at 27 he is the youngest player to reach a century of appearances in the competition, a record previously held by Lionel Messi, who got there at 28 against Roma in September 2015. Pierluigi Gollini also denied Mbappé twice in quick succession, the same report said.
Roma's second goal came from a Real Madrid mistake: Vinícius Júnior's flick was intercepted and, seconds later, Mora played Malen in. Mora had replaced Dybala at half-time. Malen's second was first ruled out for offside before VAR stepped in and awarded it, per ESPN. Espí's goal was a finish from close range after Endrick's header had been saved.
Mourinho's changes and Gasperini's
Roma lost Manu Koné to an injury after 17 minutes; Niccolò Pisilli replaced him. The changes that decided the match came from Mourinho. In the 59th minute he sent on Endrick for Vinícius Júnior and Güler for Denzel Dumfries; Endrick scored 26 minutes later and Güler set up the last two goals. In the 78th minute Espí replaced Diomande, and he scored five minutes after coming on. Bernardo Silva (for Aurélien Tchouaméni, 70th) and Álvaro Carreras (for Marc Cucurella, 78th) also came on.
In the 63rd minute Gasperini replaced Soulé with Lorenzo Pellegrini and Gianluca Mancini, booked three minutes earlier, with Leonardo Balerdi; Konstantinos Koulierakis came on for Mario Hermoso in the 81st. Roma picked up three yellow cards, for Mancini, Wesley (69th) and Pellegrini (89th); Carreras was Real Madrid's only booking, in stoppage time, and the game had neither a sending-off nor a penalty.
Speaking to Prime Video after the match, as reported by RomaPress, Mourinho credited Roma's display before his side's late spell. He also said of Endrick: "When they asked me if Roma could sign Endrick, I said impossible."
Roma were superior in every way, but then we had 20 minutes with a Real Madrid side that was impossible to stop.
José Mourinho, to Prime Video (via RomaPress)
Roma vs Real Madrid: shots, corners and fouls
| Stat | Roma | Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 54% | 46% |
| Shots | 14 | 16 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 8 |
| Corners | 5 | 9 |
| Fouls | 15 | 8 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 1 | 1 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 4 | 4 |
| Passes (completed) | 546 (471) | 459 (385) |
Roma had 54% of the ball and completed 86% of their passes to Real Madrid's 84%, but Real Madrid had more shots, 16 to 14, and more on target, eight to seven. Each goalkeeper made four saves. Real Madrid won nine corners to Roma's five, and three of their four goals followed corners. They also sent in 17 crosses to Roma's 13. Roma committed 15 fouls to Real Madrid's eight.
Eighth for Real Madrid, 25th for Roma
Real Madrid beat Inter 2-1 at home on matchday 1 and have six points from two games, with six goals scored and four conceded. They are eighth in the 36-team table, one of nine clubs on six points and level with Real Betis on points, goal difference and goals scored, but ahead on away goals scored, four to three. Paris Saint-Germain top the table. These standings are after two of eight games. Our matchday 2 preview has a section on this game and Mourinho's return to Rome.
Roma drew 1-1 at Fenerbahce on matchday 1 and are still without a win, with one point from two games, four goals scored and five conceded. They are 25th, ahead of PSV Eindhoven on goals scored, with Viking and Fenerbahce also on one point, and two points behind 24th-placed Bodø/Glimt.
Slovan Bratislava and RB Leipzig next
- Roma: at home to Slovan Bratislava, Tuesday 20 October 2026, 20:00 BST. Slovan are 36th with no points, one goal scored and nine conceded.
- Real Madrid: at home to RB Leipzig, Wednesday 21 October 2026, 20:00 BST. Leipzig are 21st with three points from a win and a defeat.
Roma host Slovan Bratislava in six days and Real Madrid host RB Leipzig in seven. Roma's league position is on our Serie A table and Real Madrid's is on the La Liga table; the Serie A simulator lets you play out the rest of the Italian season yourself. For Real Madrid's next opponents, see our report on RB Leipzig's 1-0 win over PSV.
Method note: the goals, assists, cards, substitutions, lineups, team stats and both clubs' league-phase records come from ESPN's match data. The table after matchday 2 is counted from ESPN full-time results at three points for a win, with clubs level on points ranked by goal difference, goals scored, away goals scored, wins and away wins. The narrative is from ESPN's match report and Mourinho's comments to Prime Video are from RomaPress. We found no comments from Roma published by the time of writing.