· 2 min readIn this Roma vs Real Madrid match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Real Madrid arrived in Rome in a difficult moment, with plenty of talent but very few certainties on the pitch. On the other side was a Roma side under Gasperini enjoying an excellent start to the season, having drawn with Inter and Como in their recent matches.
The favourites weren’t clear, but there’s one thing that still sets Real Madrid apart: in the Champions League, even when they look lost, you can never write this club off.
And the first half seemed to confirm that Madrid were in for a very difficult night. Just four minutes in, Courtois had to make a save from a curling Hermoso shot after Roma won the ball high up the pitch. The Italians were stronger, moved the ball better and created more danger. In the 12th minute, Dybala combined with Molina, received the ball back and managed a shot under pressure, with the ball going narrowly wide. Roma were solid defensively, and Real could barely get out of their own half.
The goal came in the 20th minute. Dybala won the ball back, and Roma patiently built the move until Soulé found De Roon just outside the box. The midfielder got ahead of his marker and shot straight down the middle. Courtois was left looking very bad, as it was a shot he should have dealt with.
The lead was deserved, but it lasted just five minutes. Hermoso completely missed the ball, Mbappé took advantage of the space and shot from outside the box. The ball flew beyond Gollini’s reach. A goal worth just 0.03 expected goals, but that’s the individual talent Madrid have at their disposal. Even when they do very little, one mistake is enough to change everything.
Roma continued to control the game, although Real managed to slow things down before half-time. Even so, a 1-0 lead at the break would have been perfectly fair based on what we’d seen.
In the second half, Madrid’s defensive disaster struck again. In the 51st minute, Vini tried a backheel pass in the middle of the pitch and gave the ball straight to the opposition. Rodrigo Mora released Malen, who shot, benefited from a deflection off Valverde’s legs and watched the ball loop over Courtois. There was an element of luck in the finish, but Vini’s mistake in that area was unacceptable.
Six minutes later, the defence once again left an absurd amount of space. Soulé advanced down the right without any pressure and played a perfect pass between the centre-backs for Malen, who made no mistake one-on-one with Courtois. The 3-1 scoreline punished a completely disorganised team.
And then there were decisions that were difficult to understand. Arda Güler, one of Madrid’s best creators, started on the bench and only came on in the 59th minute. With the game slipping away, Real were attacking chaotically, desperately searching for individual solutions.
Mbappé even scored in the 68th minute, but he was offside. Their attacking persistence couldn’t hide the problems, and the team still couldn’t find a consistent way to break Roma down.
Carlos Espí finally came on in the 78th minute. Five minutes later, from a corner, Endrick won the header, Gollini saved it and Espí was there to pounce on the rebound. In the 86th minute, Endrick himself headed home the equaliser, once again from a corner. Two goals in three minutes, and the game had completely turned around. Roma, who had controlled much of the match, began to feel the weight of a comeback that had seemed impossible.
In the 90th minute, another corner, more chaos in the box, and Rüdiger appeared to make it 4-3. The former-club rule, the comeback and another unbelievable European night for Real Madrid.
Post-match
Roma did more than enough to win, but couldn’t see the game out. Madrid once again exposed serious weaknesses, but they have a capacity to survive that few teams can match. In the Champions League, giving them room to believe can be fatal.
