José Mourinho enjoyed a Roma reunion to remember as Real Madrid completed an astonishing comeback by scoring three late goals to claim a 4-3 away win in the Champions League on Wednesday. Marten de Roon gave the hosts a deserved opener before Kylian Mbappé struck back on his 100th Champions League appearance to level the scores at the break. Two Donyell Malen strikes in the space of six minutes early in the second half seemed to take the game away from the 15-time European champions as Roma ran rampant.
But Madrid scored three goals in the final six minutes, all stemming from corners, to turn the game on its head as Carlos Espí, Endrick and the former Roma defender Antonio Rüdiger struck at a stunned Stadio Olimpico. Mourinho was a popular figure as he led Roma to the Conference League title and Europa League final during two-and-a-half years in charge. The Portuguese coach was honoured with banners and chants by the home crowd in Roma’s first home Champions League match in more than seven years.
The Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior, who featured in the win, was handed a four-match ban for pulling an opponent’s hair during Saturday’s league win over Villarreal. The decision was announced shortly before the game kicked off in Rome – a situation that left Mourinho furious with Spain’s football authorities. The cat is out of the bag now.
Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension. Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come by bus and almost arrive at the stadium when we find out?” Fredrik Sjøvold’s 52nd-minute strike secured a 1-0 victory for Bodø/Glimt over Borussia Dortmund, extending the Norwegian side’s remarkable home record against Europe’s elite.
Bodø were a cut above the 2024 Champions League runners-up and took the lead through Sjøvold just after the break. Dortmund improved in the final half hour but were unable to strike back, despite a late chance for Felix Nmecha. They took the lead and after that we woke up, but by then it was too late.” Dortmund join Manchester City, Inter and Sporting as recent big-name scalps on the artificial turf of Bodø’s Aspmyra Stadium.
Bodø’s run to the last 16 last season was underpinned by an excellent record at their 8,200-capacity home, officially the smallest venue in this year’s competition. Nomadic Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk celebrated moving into their new Champions League “home” at Stamford Bridge by storming back to beat AEK Athens 3-1. The Greek side took the lead in the 28th minute through Lovro Majer but Pedrinho levelled confidently from the penalty spot just six minutes later.
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