Real Madrid’s Comeback Against Roma Was the Most Real Madrid Thing Ever

“Their comebacks in matches are not convincing, and you feel as though everything is collapsing or not going well,” was CBS Sports analyst Jamie Carragher’s assessment of Real Madrid’s 4–3 win over Roma on Wednesday.

The 2005 Champions League winner added bluntly: “They are barely holding themselves together. They could well lose to Barcelona [on Oct. 25] and then lose the La Liga title.”

It’s a viewpoint many would agree with following Madrid’s turbulent start to the 2026–27 season.

Despite a summer makeover, new manager José Mourinho hasn’t been able to keep pace with Barcelona—Europe’s form team—while old issues over balance in attack and midfield have continued to cause problems. The recent Madrid derby defeat laid bare the shortcomings of the team, while two wins from two in the Champions League paper over some obvious cracks.

And yet, the comeback win at the Stadio Olimpico was thrilling, madcap and spectacular—serving as a reminder that Real Madrid’s Champions League aura is unaffected by rhyme or reason. Write them off at your own peril.

Madrid Remain Inevitable in Europe

With Madrid seemingly down and out at 3–1, super sub Carlos Espí bagged his third of the season to give the visitors hope on 82 minutes.

Three minutes on, Endrick, another substitute, headed in from a corner to equalize, while Antonio Rüdiger did the same thing to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on the stroke of 90 minutes. Another player brought on from the bench, Arda Güler, was key in all three goals.

In coming from two goals down on 82 minutes to win the match 4–3, Real Madrid completed the fastest three-goal turnaround in the club’s history. Madrid’s performance also ranks as the fastest away comeback (of two or more goals) in Champions League history.

They take that achievement off Liverpool who previously held the record with a 12 minute, 48 second-turnaround against Villarreal back in 2022.

Mourinho’s men had been outplayed for large periods of the evening in Rome, with Gian Piero Gasperini's team dominating the first hour. And yet, it was Madrid—15-time European champions—who came away as victors.

Even when they are objectively poor, Los Blancos will simply not be written off in their favorite competition. Both Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid sides built an feeling of inevitability in Europe that would not be removed by mediocre league form. The sense of destiny around the club is such that a “prophecy” went viral in Spain last season predicting Madrid would still win the Champions League despite looking far off the pace of the continent’s best.

Wednesday night was perhaps Mourinho’s first vintage Madrid moment since returning as manager.

Time to Channel the Feeling

“It was two games in one,” Mourinho told Prime Video after the match. “Roma were superior in every aspect for the first half, and then we were impossible to stop for 20 minutes.”

“After going 3-1 down, perhaps everyone thought the game was dead, but the only ones who were dead were the Roma players.

“It is very difficult to play with this intensity and the style of football that they have. We made some changes, because conceding three, four or five goals doesn't make much difference. Roma were unable to handle that avalanche of attacking football.”

While the overall performance may leave a lot to be desired—as Carragher put it, the club looks to be barely holding itself together at times—Madrid can still take a lot from Wednesday’s result. Even when things appear to be collapsing, you can thrive in the chaos.

The depth on the bench and the hunger of Mourinho’s backup options is highly promising, and a reminder that Madrid do have a world-class roster for all the minor complaints. The euphoria of the remontada will also give fans and the players an obvious boost going into a key period of the season, with the Clásico now just ten days away.

But most importantly, after a stuttering start, Mourinho and his players must look to harness that sense of destiny and become un-killable once again, if they are to have any hope of stopping Barça this season.