Real Madrid overcame a two-goal deficit in the final 10 minutes of the match to defeat Roma 4-3 in a simply remarkable comeback to the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Roma were on the front foot from the start, taking the match against a visiting Real Madrid side who looked outclassed in terms of energy, intensity and aggression. After some brilliant saves from Thibaut Courtois, the hosts finally took the lead thanks to a long-range strike from Marten de Roon which required a slight deflection in the 20th minute.
Donyell Malen was inches away from doubling the lead minutes later, but with Real Madrid at their worst, a poor clearance attempt left the ball bouncing for Kylian Mbappé to fire a rocket from distance to equalize just five minutes later.
But Los Blancos never looked like the better team and they collapsed in the first 15 minutes of the second half. A costly turnover from Vinícius Júnior allowed Malen to restore Roma’s lead, then he scored his brace with a calm finish that was initially flagged for offside.
Then came the replacements of José Mourinho who completely changed the situation. The arrival of Endrick and Carlos Espí revitalized Madrid’s attack and, in the final 10 minutes, both men scored within seconds to equalize. In stoppage time, it was Antonio Rüdiger who won from a corner to achieve a simply incredible comeback for Real Madrid.
In arguably the best game of the young season, Real Madrid pulled off a historic comeback to make it two wins in a row to start their Champions League campaign. The performance for much of the match was more than worrying, but the 15-time European champions showed that they are still capable of producing miracles out of nowhere in their favorite competition.
The problem that won’t go away
When will Real Madrid finally give up deploying a double pivot Aurélien Tchouaméni-Federico Valverde in midfield? There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that it just isn’t working, and the midfield duo were once again lackluster on Wednesday night.
Make no mistake, Tchouaméni and Valverde are good players, but they don’t work together. Neither is capable of controlling the game through his passing, nor is he positionally disciplined enough to prevent Madrid from playing basketball games defined by transitions.
Against a Roma team that scores aggressively, having two midfielders who don’t really stand up to pressure led to dangerous turnovers in the build-up. Midway through the first half, Courtois and Madrid’s defenders opted to stop searching for their midfield duo and instead launched long balls up the field for the attackers to win. The midfield duo finished the first half with just 33 completed passes in total – Courtois completed more accurate passes (19) than Tchouaméni (17) and Valverde (16).
Real Madrid are simply unable to control matches with this midfield duo. They also clearly lack a organizer who can resist the press and manage deep possessions, something Bernardo Silva could offer if Mourinho didn’t seem indifferent to giving him meaningful minutes.
There are a lot of issues that Real Madrid need to resolve, but it is incredibly confusing that while managers come and go, Valverde and Tchouaméni continue to start together in midfield. It is an indictment of the club’s recruitment, but it is also up to the manager to change something which is clearly not working.
Due to Madrid’s uninspiring double pivot, Roma were the better team for much of the evening, looking unthreatened defensively and capable of creating danger at any time.
Real Madrid Player Ratings vs Roma (4-2-3-1)
*Notes provided by FotMob*
GK: Thibaut Courtois—6.4: The five minutes had still not arrived and Courtois had already made two magnificent saves to prevent the hosts from taking an early lead. Despite conceding three goals, he played a vital role in keeping his team in the match.
RB: Denzel Dumfries—5.7: Undisciplined in his marking of Paulo Dybala throughout the match, giving the Argentine time and space to build Roma attacks. Caught out of position regularly in a terrible evening for the Dutchman.
CB: Ibrahima Konaté—6.2: After a good start, he was completely dominated by Malen in the second half.
CB: Antonio Rüdiger—7.4: I tried to jump forward to intercept passes and regularly left a lot of free space behind him. However, all this will be forgotten after he scores the dramatic winner.
CEO: Marc Cucurella—6.3: Typically solid defensively but missed the clearest chance of the evening, alone in front of the keeper but dragging his shot wide.
DM: Federico Valverde—7.2: I spent a lot of the game jogging around the middle of the park without making any notable contributions. His accelerations to try to regain possession high up the field failed and left Los Blancos exposed in midfield.
DM: Aurélien Tchouaméni—6.9: Completely overwhelmed by Roma’s marking which made him incredibly uncomfortable in possession. His defensive work was not better either, constantly beaten by Matias Soulé.
AD: Yan Diomandé—8.5: Well done from the teenager, who was consistently active in the final third and was also selfless off the ball, contributing to Madrid’s ball recovery efforts.
AM: Jude Bellingham—7.4: Was isolated between a sea of Roma markers for much of the match. Although he roamed the field tirelessly, he could not produce anything remarkable.
AG: Vinícius Júnior—6.7: Disappeared for long periods of the match, but started Bellingham in a dangerous chance late in the first half. However, he seems very far from his best version. A simply unforgivable turnover.
ST: Kylian Mbappé—8.2: Celebrated by becoming the youngest player to play 100 Champions League matches with another goal. His individual genius is currently the main and perhaps only path to success for Real Madrid.
BELOW: Arda Güler (59′ for Dumfries)—8.3: Helped to organize and control the game from his introduction, allowing Roma to retreat deep inside their halfway line.
SUB: Endrick (59′ for Vini Jr)—7.7: A threat for the entirety of his cameo, and it was his powerful header that leveled the match. Without doubt the best minutes of his career at Real Madrid.
BELOW: Bernardo Silva (70′ for Tchouaméni)—6.5: Not as involved in the late comeback, but he helped recycle possession when he came on.
BELOW: Álvaro Carreras (78′ for Cucurella)—6.2: He completed only four passes and received a yellow card.
BELOW: Carlos Espí (78′ for Diomandé)—7.1: Continues to produce despite his limited minutes. The super-sub started Madrid’s comeback with a poacher’s finish.
Unused subs: Andriy Lunin (GK), Sergio Mestre (GK), Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Pitarch, Brahim Diaz, Eduardo Camavinga.
What the grades tell us
- Denzel Dumfries offered almost nothing on both ends of the court on Wednesday. The Dutchman has been Mourinho’s first choice all season, but after his worst performance in a Real Madrid shirt, it would be confusing not to see Trent Alexander-Arnold challenging for the starting spot.
- It’s not just that Vinicius Junior is in poor shape; is that he seems completely moody, disengaged and carefree. In this current version, there’s not much left of a player who was arguably the best in the world three seasons ago, and his place in Real Madrid’s XI should be called into question. Endrick And Carlos Espi this could give more minutes.
- Kylian Mbappé And Jude Bellingham seem to be the only players capable of saving Madrid’s season, but relying on individual genius will not be enough at this level.
The numbers that explain Real Madrid’s incredible victory
- Real Madrid finished the match with a xG of 1.86and the three late goals accounted for 1.17 of this total.
- Roma’s last shot on goal of the match arrived in the 73rd minutemeanwhile Los Blancos registered five attempts on target after that.
- Real Madrid scored on the last three of nine corners in total they had everything in the game.
- Los Blancos finished the match with eight shots on targetand just one of them came in the first half (goal from Mbappé).
Statistical | Rome | Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
Possession | 54% | 46% |
Expected objectives (xG) | 1.43 | 1.83 |
Total number of shots | 14 | 16 |
Shots on target | 7 | 8 |
Great chances | 3 | 3 |
Passing accuracy | 86% | 84% |
Faults | 15 | 8 |
Corners | 5 | 9 |
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