Real Madrid Stun Roma 4-3 With Three Late Corner Goals as Mourinho Returns to Rome

Real Madrid pulled off one of the wildest Champions League turnarounds in recent memory on Wednesday night, erasing a 3-1 deficit with three goals in roughly seven minutes to beat Roma 4-3 at the Stadio Olimpico. Substitutes Carlos Espi and Endrick scored to level the match, and Antonio Rudiger headed home a 90th-minute winner, with every one of the three goals coming from an Arda Guler corner kick.

The result was also a storybook night for Jose Mourinho, who returned to Rome as Real Madrid’s coach and was greeted by Roma supporters with banners and chants honoring his time at the club. For most of the evening, though, his team looked headed for a humbling loss. Roma, now coached by Gian Piero Gasperini, had gone ahead through Marten de Roon and Donyell Malen (twice), and the home crowd was celebrating what looked like a statement win.

From 3-1 Down to a Seven-Minute Rescue

Roma started fast, and Thibaut Courtois had to make a full-stretch save on Mario Hermoso’s curling effort inside the opening minutes. De Roon eventually broke through with a long-range strike in the 20th minute, but Kylian Mbappe answered five minutes later, pouncing on a Hermoso mistake at the edge of the area and firing in a slightly deflected equalizer. The game was level at the break.

The second half belonged to the hosts until the final stretch. Malen struck in the 51st minute and added a second in the 57th, the latter only counting after a VAR check for offside went Roma’s way. At 3-1, Madrid looked finished.

Then Roma’s defense came apart on set pieces. In the 83rd minute, Endrick’s header from a Guler corner was parried by goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, and Espi tapped in the rebound after another VAR review confirmed the goal. Two minutes later, Endrick rose again to meet another Guler delivery and nodded in the equalizer. With Roma staggering, Guler whipped in a third corner and Rudiger, a former Roma defender, got on the end of it in the six-yard box for the winner in the 90th minute.

Mourinho Takes the Blame, Endrick Takes the Spotlight

Mourinho was quick to deflect praise after the match. He said the responsibility for the poor first half lay with the coach, while the credit for the dominant closing stretch belonged to the players. He also pointed to the standings, noting that six points from two games puts Madrid halfway to qualification. Roma, by comparison, have just one point and have now gone five European matches without a win.

The finish was especially meaningful for Endrick. The 20-year-old Brazilian forward had been short on minutes, and a day earlier Mourinho had publicly ruled out loaning him out in January amid reported interest from AC Milan, saying anyone interested would have to fight him hard. Endrick answered by coming off the bench and scoring the goal that made it 3-3, ending a scoring drought for the club.

Real Madrid’s bench was the story of the night. Espi and Endrick changed the game as substitutes, while Guler’s delivery from the right side turned corners into the most dangerous weapon on the field. Roma, who had controlled most of the match, were left to explain how they conceded three times from the same type of situation in such a short window.

Mbappe Makes History

Mbappe’s first-half equalizer came in his 100th Champions League appearance, making him the youngest player ever to reach that milestone. At 27, he beat the previous mark set by Lionel Messi, who was 28 when he reached 100 appearances in a match against Roma in September 2015. The goal was also his 72nd in the competition, moving him past former Madrid great Raul Gonzalez and into fifth place on the all-time Champions League scoring list.

It capped a night of milestones for a player who made his Champions League debut as a 17-year-old with Monaco in September 2016, and it reinforced how much Madrid still lean on him when games get chaotic.

What Comes Next

The win lifts Real Madrid to a perfect two-for-two in the new Champions League league phase and gives Mourinho some much-needed breathing room after a bumpy start to his tenure, with Madrid sitting six points behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga. Roma, meanwhile, are left with a painful lesson in set-piece defending and a lot of work to do to climb the table.

Oddsmakers and fans alike will be watching to see whether this kind of late-game resilience carries over. For bettors tracking soccer futures, a team that can turn a two-goal deficit into a win in under ten minutes is worth keeping on the radar, and anyone looking to back the next Madrid match can start with the latest DraftKings promo code offer or run the numbers with an odds and probability calculator before placing a wager.