Three late goals handed Real Madrid a 4-3 victory away from home in Wednesday's Champions League fixture, a result that also marked Jose Mourinho's return to Roma.
Banners and chants from the home supporters greeted Mourinho as Roma took to the Olimpico for their first European Cup night there in over seven years. The hosts pressed from the opening whistle, with Mario Hermoso testing Thibaut Courtois, who was required to tip away a goal-bound effort at full stretch.
Twenty minutes in, a De Roon effort from distance found its way past Courtois to put Roma ahead. The visitors nearly doubled their lead when a Malen shot squeezed under the goalkeeper before a defending player hacked it away from the line.
The advantage disappeared almost immediately, with the equaliser arriving inside five minutes of the home side taking the lead. A positioning error by Hermoso opened a clear path to goal for Mbappe, whose shot — redirected off a defender — found the back of the net to level the scores at 1-1 at half-time.
Mbappe was making his 100th Champions League appearance in the fixture. At 27, he is the youngest player to reach that threshold, and his goal was his 72nd in the competition, placing him fifth in the tournament's all-time scoring list and surpassing the total accumulated by former Real Madrid forward Raul Gonzalez.
Ahead of the match, Gasperini had stated that Roma would maintain their attacking approach regardless of the opponent, and the team produced an assertive second half. Mora, introduced at the break, played the ball through to Malen, who gathered it in one touch and clipped it beyond Courtois with the next, putting Roma back in front.
Six minutes on, Malen latched onto a through ball and drove it past the goalkeeper for his brace, a finish that stood only after VAR overturned an offside flag raised by the assistant referee. Mbappe put Pierluigi Gollini under pressure on two occasions as Real sought to get back into the match, though a second goal from the forward was subsequently disallowed for offside.
Set pieces proved the undoing of Roma's defensive shape. Espi tucked away a loose ball at the near post after a header fell to the ground, before Endrick doubled the advantage from the subsequent corner just two minutes later. Rudiger settled the contest in the 90th minute, manoeuvring ahead of his marker to tap home from close range and complete the turnaround. Rudiger had previously worn Roma colours at centre-back.
Mourinho's two-and-a-half years at Roma's helm drew considerable support from fans, a tenure that included lifting the UEFA Conference League trophy and reaching the final of the Europa League.
Following those two opening league phase fixtures, Real Madrid sit on six points while Roma have managed just one.
Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian title-holders who have been without a permanent home ground, turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 victory over AEK Athens in their opening Champions League fixture at Stamford Bridge. Thousands of the club's supporters packed the stands, while the players emerged from the tunnel wearing blue-and-yellow national flags across their shoulders.
Majer put his side in front on 28 minutes, only for Pedrinho to restore parity from the spot six minutes on. Ten minutes or so before the final whistle, Vinicius Tobias converted from a narrow angle, and substitute Gleiker Mendoza wrapped up the result by driving in after cutting across from the left flank. Four points from two outings now sit against Shakhtar's name in the group, their tally built on a draw with PSV Eindhoven in the opening fixture before this latest result was added.
Fredrik Sjovold's strike, arriving seven minutes after the interval, gave Bodo/Glimt a narrow victory over Borussia Dortmund at home and extended the Norwegian side's run without a defeat in European competition on their own ground. Pressing forward across the closing half-hour, Dortmund found ways to threaten — most notably through Felix Nmecha — yet an equaliser remained out of reach. Among the clubs to have fallen on the synthetic pitch at Aspmyra stadium in Bodø, Dortmund now take their place alongside Manchester City, Inter Milan, and Sporting.
Six goals without reply put Aston Villa into the record books for their continental competition, with Nicolas Jackson playing a central role in the victory over Fenerbahce. A first home victory of the season in this competition arrived for Emery's squad, keeping their record in the tournament unblemished through every fixture played so far.
Manzambi opened the scoring for Villa, with Jackson adding two further goals before the break. Two goals from Barkley after the interval, followed by a late effort from Abraham, put the result beyond any doubt.