Roma’s Champions League night against Real Madrid contained a brief reminder that international football often runs beneath the club rivalries on show at the Olimpico. Before kick-off, Kylian Mbappé and Manu Koné shared a playful moment as the teams emerged from the tunnel, with the Real Madrid forward giving his France team-mate a light shove while they walked towards the pitch.
The gesture, accompanied by a mischievous smile from Mbappé, caught the attention of the children escorting the players onto the field. One of them was Leonardo Cerci, son of former Roma player Alessio Cerci, who joined the club’s youth football school last year. Mbappé was seen explaining the joke to the youngster after the brief exchange.
There was no hostility behind it. Mbappé and Koné know each other from the France national side, where the Madrid striker has built a remarkable record of 107 appearances and 67 goals. Koné has made 22 appearances for France so far, still waiting for his first international goal.
For the Roma midfielder, however, the warmth of the pre-match scene gave way quickly to a difficult evening. Koné was forced off after only 17 minutes with a muscle problem in his right thigh, leaving Roma without one of their midfield reference points early in the contest.
His departure came before the wider disappointment for the home side, who were beaten 4-3 after Real Madrid overturned the match at the Olimpico in the second round of the Champions League league phase. It was a night of fine margins for Roma: a familiar face from France at the start, an early injury in the middle of the game, and a painful result by the final whistle.
