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Real Madrid left Rome with a 4–3 victory on Wednesday after scoring three times in the final eight minutes, capping one of the most prolific evenings in Champions League history. Nine matches played that night yielded 46 goals in total, an average of five per game.
At the Stadio Olimpico, Roma — returning to the competition for the first time in seven years — made a confident start and kept Thibaut Courtois busy from the outset. The Belgian goalkeeper initially turned away a Hermoso effort, but a ricochet from a De Ron strike left him helpless to give the hosts a 20th-minute lead. Five minutes later Kylian Mbappé equalised in similar fashion after Roma’s goalkeeper was caught in an identical situation.
The second half belonged to Roma until it suddenly did not. Vinícius Júnior lost possession in midfield attempting a back-heel pass, and Donyell Malen punished the error immediately, finishing a swift counter-attack to make it 2–1. The Dutch forward doubled his tally shortly afterwards with a second counter-attacking goal, putting Roma 3–1 ahead with less than half an hour remaining.
What followed was a seven-minute collapse. Substitute Espí pulled one back in the 82nd minute, Endrik — on for Vinícius — equalised in the 85th, and Antonio Rüdiger headed the winner deep into stoppage time to complete the turnaround and give Real a 4–3 victory.
The occasion carried personal significance for several individuals. For Mbappé, the match marked his 100th appearance in UEFA’s main club competition, making him, at 27 years and 298 days, the youngest player to reach that milestone — surpassing Lionel Messi’s record. For Vinícius, the evening was more complicated: La Liga announced on the same day that he had been handed a four-match domestic suspension for his conduct in a match against Villarreal, meaning he will be restricted to European fixtures for a period.
For Real’s manager José Mourinho, the trip to Rome carried its own nostalgia. He had faced former club Inter Milan in the opening round; now he returned to the Olimpico, where Roma supporters greeted him with banners — a reminder of his time in the Italian capital.
City beaten at home
Manchester City suffered a home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, conceding four goals at the Etihad Stadium. The match was notable for the return of Uzbekistan international Abdukodir Khusanov to City’s starting eleven, though the defender could not prevent the loss. Full match details were not immediately available, but the result extended a difficult run for City in the competition.
Wednesday’s results left the Champions League group-stage standings significantly reshaped, with Real’s late drama underlining that even a three-goal deficit offers no certainty in a competition that, on this evidence, has rarely been more open.