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place
- Olympic Stadium
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referee
- Francois Letexier
Marten de Roon 20′
Donyell Malen 51′
Donyell Malen 57′
Kylian Mbappé 25′
Carlos Espí 83′
Endrick Felipe Moreira de Sousa 85′
Antonio Rüdiger 90′
Real Madrid scored three goals in the last six minutes to complete a stunning 4-3 comeback win at Roma in the Champions League.
Donyell Malen’s second-half brace looked set to secure a 3-1 victory for Roma, but goals from Carlos Espi, Endrick and Antonio Rudiger at the death completed a sensational turnaround as Real took all three points.
Roma initially took the lead in the first half thanks to Marten De Roon’s stunner, with Kylian Mbappé canceling out this strike with a deflected long-range effort.
De Roon and Mbappe trade stunners
Roma started brightly, with Thibaut Courtois making an excellent save to deny Mario Hermoso in the fourth minute. Paulo Dybala shot wide as the hosts put Real Madrid under early pressure.
Roma took a deserved lead in the 20th minute through De Roon, punishing Madrid’s slow start with a fine shot from the edge of the box. Donyell Malen almost doubled the lead moments later, but Courtois could only keep his effort off the line.
Mbappé equalized from distance for Madrid in the 25th minute, and his shot deflected past the goalkeeper. The equalizer went to the visitors after Roma had dominated the opening exchanges.
Roma continued to threaten on the counter, with Malen lively, but Madrid gradually adapted and began to spend more time in the home half.
Jude Bellingham came close to putting Madrid ahead just before the break but fired Vinicius Jr’s cut-back wide. The teams went into halftime tied at 1-1.
Real were stunned early in the second half when Malen scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season to put the Giallarossi 3-1 up. The former Aston Villa man latched on to a deep ball before his shot deflected over Courtois to score the first, before netting the second in controversial circumstances.
After running back and finishing clinically, the Royals were furious that they were not given a penalty to bring down Bellingham at the other end, while Malen also looked close to being offside as he ran.
Roma threatened to extend their lead on the counter, with Malen setting up Lorenzo Pellegrini in space, but Marc Cucurella recovered well to force the Roma captain into a poor shot wide. Teenager Rodrigo Mora also tested Courtois, although his shot was straight at the keeper.
Real Madrid pushed back, with Mbappé sending in a dangerous cross that was met by Pierluigi Gollini. Endrick then used his pace to beat Evan Ndicka and win a corner, before VAR correctly overturned a Madrid corner decision following a review.
Spectacular end like Real roba’s victory
Just when it seemed that Roma could hold on for a famous victory, Real Madrid managed to close the gap in the 84th minute through Espi.
Barely a minute later, Real leveled with Endrick as the young Brazilian rose higher to guide a brilliant header into the back of the net.
And the drama didn’t end there as another corner found a Real Madrid man first, this time Rudiger who was able to side-foot the winner to complete one of the Whites’ classic comebacks in Europe.
Champions League classification
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position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 : Promotion – Champions League (Play Off: Round of 16)
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position 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 : Promotion – Champions League (Play Off: Round of 16)
