By the time Real Madrid started scoring again in Rome, José Mourinho had replaced half his outfield team. Carlos Espí, Endrick and Antonio Rüdiger then scored between the 83rd and 90th minutes, turning a 3–1 deficit into a 4–3 Champions League victory. The players sent on to repair the performance had become central to the result.
Roma had arrived unbeaten in competitive matches this season, and Donyell Malen’s revival in Rome continued with two second-half goals. For most of Mourinho’s return to the Stadio Olimpico, his former club had given Madrid problems it couldn’t solve. The visitors left with six points from two league-phase games and a stronger argument for giving the substitutes more responsibility.
Thibaut Courtois was needed early to deny Mario Hermoso before Marten de Roon opened the scoring from outside the box in the 20th minute. Kylian Mbappé answered five minutes later, benefiting from a defensive mistake and a deflection. Madrid reached halftime level without having established control.
The gaps reappeared after the break. Vinícius Júnior lost possession in the move that ended with Rodrigo Mora releasing Malen for 2–1 in the 51st minute. Six minutes later, Matías Soulé sent Malen through again. An initial offside decision was overturned, leaving Roma two goals ahead and Madrid facing a second recovery, considerably harder than the first.
Gian Piero Gasperini had described the danger before kickoff. “They’re still an incredibly dangerous team that can win a game in an instant,” the Roma coach said. His team had exposed Madrid’s weaknesses. It still had to survive the resources Mourinho could summon from the bench.
Three corners and a different Madrid attack
Around the hour, Endrick replaced Vinícius and Arda Güler came on for Denzel Dumfries. Bernardo Silva followed for Aurélien Tchouaméni in the 70th minute. Eight minutes later, Espí replaced summer signing Yan Diomande, while Álvaro Carreras took over from Marc Cucurella. Mourinho had used all five substitutions before Madrid reduced the deficit.
The rescue wasn’t immediate. Mbappé had another finish ruled out for offside, and the score remained 3–1 into the final ten minutes. The eventual breakthrough required two substitutes in the same attack: Endrick met a corner with a header, Pierluigi Gollini saved, and Espí converted the rebound. A VAR review restored the initially disallowed goal.
Espí had already delivered a late winner at Elche in September, after Madrid let a two-goal lead slip. Here, his contribution bought the team another chance rather than settling the match. Gollini had stopped the first attempt, but Espí ensured the save didn’t end the attack.
Endrick supplied the next finish himself. In the 85th minute, he headed in Güler’s corner to make it 3–3. Within two scoring actions, the Brazilian had forced the save that produced Madrid’s second goal and scored its third. The equalizer belonged to him; the delivery belonged to another player who’d started on the bench.
Mourinho had defended keeping Endrick on the eve of the match, telling TNT Sports he didn’t believe the forward needed a loan. Afterward, Endrick thanked the coach but left his future open, saying he would keep working for Madrid while he remained at the club. One decisive appearance hadn’t settled his longer-term role. It had strengthened his case for more minutes.
Madrid still needed a winner. Güler delivered another corner in the 90th minute, and Rüdiger converted from close range. The defender who’d spent two seasons at Roma completed a comeback against his old club on the night Mourinho returned to face it.
All three late goals came from corner situations, but they weren’t interchangeable: a saved header and rebound, a headed equalizer, then Rüdiger’s finish. Güler’s deliveries and the attackers’ work inside the area offered Madrid a route back that its earlier play hadn’t provided. The comeback was extraordinary without needing to become evidence of a convincing performance throughout.
For Roma, Malen’s double and the openings created by Mora and Soulé couldn’t compensate for failing to defend the final corners. Madrid had been vulnerable when Roma attacked through it. Roma became vulnerable when Madrid repeatedly put the ball into its penalty area.
Mourinho’s changes helped win the match. His next challenge is deciding how much of that finishing team belongs in the starting lineup.
