6 min

Roma 3-4 Real Madrid: a late comeback in Rome, and Vinicius banned for the Clásico

Sifat Jasim

Thu, Oct 15, 2026

Roma 3-4 Real Madrid: a late comeback in Rome, and Vinicius banned for the Clásico

Three set-piece goals in the last ten minutes turned a 3-1 deficit into a 3-4 win at the Olimpico. Vinicius, meanwhile, will miss the Clásico after a four-match LaLiga ban.

From 3-1 down to a 3-4 win in Rome

Fellow Madridistas, what a night at the Olimpico. Roma led 3-1 with only 81 minutes on the clock, and many of us had already given up. Then the team found three goals in the last ten minutes. All three came from set pieces, and Antonio Rüdiger headed home the winner in the 90th minute. That is how Real Madrid took all three points on matchday two of the Champions League.

Marten de Roon put Roma ahead and Kylian Mbappé equalised, reportedly in his 100th Champions League game. Malen then made it 3-1 just before the hour. Our late goals came from Carlos Espí, his first ever in the Champions League, and a header from Endrick. Endrick came off the bench and was named man of the match. Afterwards he said he works every day to help the team. Espí summed up the finish in one word: madness.

The substitutes changed the game. Mourinho brought on Endrick for Vinicius on 59 minutes, and Arda Güler, Endrick and Espí turned the match around. Mourinho called it an "organised" rebellion, built on a change of approach and the hunger of the bench. Former Madrid striker Mijatovic praised Mourinho's "old wolf" instinct with those changes.

There is plenty to fix, though. Thibaut Courtois admitted the team's own mistakes cost them all three goals, though he also said everyone believed until the end. One telling stat: in the first half, Courtois completed more passes than either of our two central midfielders. That shows how hard it was to play out from the back. Pundits are again debating the Valverde–Tchouaméni pairing in midfield, and more and more of them see Güler as the answer.

Our starting XI: Courtois; Dumfries, Konaté, Rüdiger, Cucurella; Tchouaméni, Valverde; Diomande, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappé.

Milestones from the night

A tenth straight away win against Italian sides in the Champions League, according to the club.
Vinícius Jr reached 250 wins with Real Madrid.
Jude Bellingham reached 100 wins in 150 games for the club.
Napoli, Inter, Como and Roma all lost in the same Champions League round for the first time.

Vinicius banned for four LaLiga games

The Spanish Federation has given Vinícius Jr a four-match LaLiga suspension. He will miss the Clásico on 25 October. Until 21 November he can only play in the Champions League. According to reports, two games are for violent conduct after he grabbed Saliba. The other two are for his protests towards referee Isidro Díaz de Mera afterwards.

The timing caused real anger. Vinicius learned about the ban only about two hours before kick-off in Rome. Mourinho asked in his press conference whether that was normal and said the cat was out of the bag with the federation. Vinicius said he could not remember any player ever getting a four-match ban like this, and that in the end the card always goes to him. In Spain, some pundits called the ban exaggerated, while others say the criticism is shifting the focus away from his form.

On the pitch it was a hard night for him, and he was taken off just before the hour. Mundo Deportivo reports that he was not happy about being substituted, but treat that as an unconfirmed report.

Rest day, then back to work

Mourinho gave the squad a full day off after the late flight home from Rome. Training resumes on Friday, with the Clásico just ten days away.

Youth and club news

Our Juvenil A side picked up a second win in the UEFA Youth League.
Liam van Nistelrooy, son of Ruud, has six goals in five games this season, three of them in the Youth League.
The club has published the full schedule for the first phase of the 2026-27 Champions League.
Real Madrid, adidas and FARM Rio have launched a new Brazil-inspired collection.

Sources

Sifat Jasim

Membership reopens in March 2027.

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