Roma lose 3-1 lead to Real Madrid as Soulé points to mentality
Real Madrid scored three late goals from corner situations to win 4-3 in Rome. Matías Soulé said Roma must learn to keep their focus through the final whistle.
Roma lost 4-3 at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League on 14 October 2026 after conceding three goals in the final seven minutes, turning a 3-1 lead into defeat. Matías Soulé said the collapse exposed a problem with the team’s focus and mentality.
The result left Roma with one point from their first two matches in the tournament, following a 1-1 draw away to Fenerbahce. It was also their first Champions League home fixture in more than seven years, according to Football Italia. The late reversal cost Roma a win in that home return after they had held a two-goal advantage.
How Real Madrid overturned Roma’s lead
Football Italia’s match report records Marten de Roon putting Roma ahead in the 20th minute before Kylian Mbappé equalised five minutes later. Donyell Malen scored Roma’s next two goals, in the 51st and 57th minutes, giving the home side a 3-1 lead that lasted until the final stages.
Carlos Espí scored in the 83rd minute, Endrick in the 85th and Antonio Rüdiger in the 90th to complete Real Madrid’s comeback, according to Football Italia. Its report says each of the three goals came from a corner situation. BBC Sport separately records the 4-3 result and Real Madrid’s late recovery from 3-1 down.
What Matías Soulé said about Roma’s collapse
Soulé told Amazon Prime Video Italia that Roma had the game in their hands but threw it away on three corners, according to Football Italia. He said the team needed to remain focused for the full match, including stoppage time, and called mentality an issue after conceding three nearly identical goals in seven minutes. His comments centred on how Roma defended the closing stages after building their lead.
Soulé also said Roma had played well for much of the match and should take positives from that performance while working on its negatives. He described the defeat as a lesson for the team, with the three corner situations providing the clearest example of what had gone wrong late in the game.
Roma also made two injury-related changes. Football Italia reported that Manu Koné left after 17 minutes and Paulo Dybala was substituted at half-time with a muscular issue. The available reports establish no diagnosis or recovery timetable for either player.
Sources and context
- Soule: ‘Roma valuable lesson, mentality is an issue’ in 4-3 defeat to Real MadridFootball Italia (article republished by Yahoo Sports)
- Champions League highlights: Roma 3-4 Real MadridBBC Sport
- UCL | Roma 3-4 Real Madrid: Mourinho inflicts corner kick nightmare on GaspFootball Italia
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