Roma’s Champions League night against Real Madrid was shaped by a brutal late turn: for more than 80 minutes, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side controlled the contest and held a two-goal lead, only to lose the match after an eight-minute collapse.
Roma’s command undone at the finish
Gasperini felt his team had been clearly superior for most of the evening against José Mourinho’s Real Madrid. He rejected the suggestion that Roma had run out of energy, arguing instead that the visitors had been the side under greater physical pressure.
“If anyone was struggling, it was them,” Gasperini said. “We could have scored several more times and were better in every department. Their goals from corners still count, of course, but Real Madrid were not at our level.”
The coach’s frustration came from the contrast between Roma’s performance and the outcome. The Giallorossi had played with authority, but failed to protect their advantage through the final phase of the match.
- Roma were in control for approximately 82 minutes.
- The side held a two-goal advantage before the late reversal.
- Real Madrid’s comeback was driven by goals from corner situations.
- Gasperini described Roma as passive when defending those set pieces.
A mental collapse, not a sustained siege
Gasperini did not believe Roma had been under relentless pressure before the decisive moments. Instead, he saw a team that became frozen by the circumstances once the match entered its closing stages.
“We stopped just before the line in the least expected way,” he said. “We were passive at Real Madrid’s corners. We lost a game that we had managed very well. We must look at it psychologically and mentally. We were not suffering, but then it seemed as if the situation paralysed us.”
For the Roma coach, the lesson is not to discard the performance that preceded the collapse. A double lead, he stressed, still has to be defended until the final whistle. Roma must retain the standard shown across the opening 80 minutes while confronting the failings that decided the result.
Selection calls and an injury concern
Mourinho introduced fresh, quick players during the latter stages, but Gasperini stood by his own substitutions. Roma’s options were limited, particularly at the back, because of absences in defence.
“I would make the same changes again,” Gasperini said. “When you have players missing in defence, there is not much else you can do.”
The match also brought new fitness concerns for Roma.
- Manu Koné suffered a strain and will undergo examinations to establish its extent.
- Paulo Dybala reported a muscular problem.
- The other players withdrawn during the match were dealing with minor knocks rather than more serious issues.
Roma leave the night with a defeat that will hurt precisely because their display had promised something much greater. Gasperini’s task is to ensure that the team’s commanding 80-minute spell becomes the reference point, rather than the damaging few minutes that followed it.
