It’s been seven long years since Roma played in the Champions League and finally, they managed to do it in 2026. Their first home game in the competition was against none other than Real Madrid, an opponent which defeated Roma the last four times, not allowing a single goal. But Roma under Gianpiero Gasperini is a bold team, which attacks and runs at anybody, including the multiple winner of the Champions League. After all, Gasperini used to defeat Jose Mourinho while at Atalanta. And when the home team took a 3-1 lead in the 57th minute, it looked that a victory is within reach. But suddenly, Roma’s inexperience kicked in and Giallorossi allowed three goals in the space of just seven minutes for a total turnaround and Real’s 4-3 victory.Real played bad, Real allowed three goals and could have allowed even more, Real missed its chances, but somehow, Real won. That half an hour of the game after Roma took a 3-1 lead was Madrid’s best performance so far, and the home team will have only themselves to blame. After the third goal they just stopped, assuming that Real is Fiorentina, or Torino, uncapable of coming back. But individual quality saved the Spanish giant tonight. Mourinho made a desperate move and put basically all he had on the bench into attack and it worked. Endrick had the same fate as last season – he was on the bench since September, but the Real coach dismissed any chances of allowing the Brazilian to go on loan (Roma and Milan were after him). He introduced him in the 60th minute and the Brazilian scored an equalizer and was pivotal in Espi’s goal minutes before. In the end, it was Roma’s former player Rudiger who scored the winner in the 90th minute, leaving home fans in a shock.ESPI, ENDRICK AND ARDA REALLY SAVED MY LIFE 😭🤍 AND THANK YOU, RÜDIGER, FOR THAT LAST-MINUTE GOAL! 😭🔥⚽ 4-3 https://t.co/Y3aqO7liWU— 𝐹 🐾 (@fieyfeyaa) October 14, 2026 The first chance came already in the fourth minute, when Dybala took a shot, but Courtois parried it. The ball fell to Hermoso, who curled it in but Courtois responded. Roma continued to pressure and in the 20th minute, de Roon fired a thunderous shot from outside the box, surprising Courtois. The small deflection also helped and Roma fans were off their chairs – 1:0. Malen had his shot saved by Courtois three minutes later but then it was time for Real’s deflection goal. The visitors did nothing by that time, but when Hermoso totally missed the ball, it came to Mbappe, who took a long shot but the ball touched Mancini well enough to change direction and Real equalized from their very first shot. Roma had the initiative but Mourinho’s men had two huge chances in the first half to totally turn the game around. Cucurella won the duel with Soule but his shot went just near the post, while Mbappe was all alone on the other side, waiting for a pass. The second one came through Vinicius, who made a great pass to Bellingham in injury time, but the Englishman took a shot which went just inches off the left post.Endrick goal vs Roma | Roma vs Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League #UCL https://t.co/o5QCyjXIHd— StatPad Football📊📈📉 (@StatPadFootball) October 14, 2026 Real’s downfall happened in the space of six minutes in the second half. The second Roma lead happened when Vinicius lost the ball in midfield only to see De Roon and Mora joining forces and passing it to Malen, who took a shot, and again, a deflection (this time off Valverde) helped him score. Six minutes later, the Dutch forward scored again, this time after Soule’s assist, and the goal was initially ruled as offside, but VAR changed the decision and suddenly it was 3-1. Mourinho went all in and introduced Endrick, Silva and Guler, but it was his jocker Carlos Espi who gave the visitors hope when he scored for 3-2 in the 83rd minute. And suddenly, a total defensive collapse by the home team. They allowed three goals from three corners. Espi, Endrick and Rudiger all scored after corners in which Roma defense looked like an amateur team. The experience and ariel duel from Mancini was missing, but the captain had to be subbed during the game since he had a yellow card and played against Mbappe. Roma will surely gain experience after this loss, but it was a brutal price to pay.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 2WednesdayFeyenoord – Como 3-2 (1-1)/Zechiel 20, Moussa 52, Sanchez (og) 81 – Diao 18, Douvikas 90+3/LASK – Liverpool 3-6 (0-3)/Ljubicic 63, Flecker 74, 77 – Araujo 22, Barcola 24, 37, 66, Frimpong 51, Koumas 72/Aston Villa – Fenerbahce 6-0 (3-0)/Manzambi 12, Jackson 31, 39, Barkley 68,(p), 72, Abraham 90/Betis – Porto 3-2 (0-0)/Ezzalzouli 47, Hernandez 74 – Isco 84(p) – Veiga 54, Aghehowa 61/Bodo – Dortmund 1-0 (0-0)/Sjovold 52/Man.City – PSG 2-4 (0-3)/Haaland 53, 75 – Doue 13, Dembele 15, Vitinha 32, Akliouche 62/Roma – Real Madrid 3-4 (1-1)/De Roon 20, Malen 51 – Mbappe 25, Espi 83, Endrick 85, Ruddiger 90/Shakhtar – AEK 3-1 (1-1)/Pedrinho 34(p), Tobias 80, Menodza 86 – Majer 28/Slovan B. – Stuttgart 0-3 (0-1)/Undav 29, Cruz 64(og), Demirovic 90/***odds are subject to change***