Güler Revives Mourinho's Madrid

R eal Madrid has an exceptional roster. This was evident in Rome, where the players underutilized by Mourinho turned around a major mess—a strategy of direct play without a midfield that allowed Roma to dominate. The Setúbal coach’s former team took a 3-1 lead, with Vinicius particularly off his game, and the desperate substitutions worked a miracle. Arda Güler delivered three perfectly executed corner kicks that were converted by Espí, Endrick, and Rüdiger—three goals in seven minutes to secure the win and offer several lessons. Soccer is played with midfielders, and when one player isn’t performing well, you have to make way for another who comes in hungry.

The uproar over Vinicius’s suspension and the controversy surrounding the referees took some of the spotlight away from the match in Rome, where Mourinho reaffirmed his status as “The Special One” by lifting a European title. For this special occasion—given the opponent and the Champions League, the eternal love of the Whites—the coach was bolder than ever. He started the BMV duo alongside Diomande for the first time. Such joy comes at a price, so he benched Arda Güler and stuck with the Tchouaméni-Valverde duo in the midfield. This dashed the hopes of many Real Madrid fans, who weren’t surprised by how the match at the Olimpico began. Roma, a team as daring as Gasperini’s Atalanta, exposed the Whites’ weaknesses.

Soulé had a chance 50 seconds in. Courtois made his first save at the 5-minute mark, stopping Hermoso’s spectacular shot right next to the post. Dybala fired Nahuel’s back pass wide; Nahuel is a left-footed wingback (12'). And Wesley took advantage of a defensive lapse to break into the box and . Of course, on the fifth attempt, the first goal went in. After Tchouaméni lost the ball on a clearance, De Roon’s long-range shot caught Courtois off guard after deflecting off a defender. It was the logical culmination of a dreadful stretch of play—no threat, no flow, unable to string together more than three passes, lacking focus on defense, and with no plan other than long balls, preferably from Courtois.

Perhaps Mourinho, cheered on by the Roma fans, had it all planned out. We shouldn’t rule that out. He did it before against Inter. But back then, he pressed and his team stayed compact with discipline. In Rome, he did away with midfield play, any build-up, and any attempt to create chances, in favor of seeking the decisive counterattack. Malen had a chance with a shot so hard it even startled Courtois, who was quick to prevent the goal. And on a loose ball, a long pass capitalized on Hermoso’s mistake, and Mbappé, on his first shot, scored the equalizer. The debate-ender.

Roma felt the impact of Real Madrid’s goal. They lost confidence in their full-field press and allowed Madrid to control the ball more. They were also hampered by the early injury to Koné, their anchor. Diomande stepped up his involvement, both with and without the ball. What a sight. A winger helping out on defense. It’s worth noting that the best chance before halftime came from a fullback playing as a winger, Cucurella, who capitalized on a mistake by Soulé and found himself one-on-one with Gollini. He finished it off with a mediocre right-footed shot. And Vinicius? Out of sync. Slow. His best moment in the first half was the back pass, just before halftime, that Bellingham sent wide.

Vinicius’s abysmal performance seemed hard to top. In fact, Mourinho switched the wingers. Meanwhile, Gasperini didn’t flinch and brought in Rodrigo Mora, the young Mexican talent, for the ineffective Dybala. What happened was that Courtois came out low looking for Vini on the right, attempted a backheel with his back to goal, Roma stole the ball, Mora set up Malen, and he finished with a cross-goal shot. Mourinho grew frustrated with Vini but kept him on the right. Madrid was in disarray, and Mora proved it once again. He controlled the ball in the middle; they let him drive forward five meters, ten, fifteen, until he found the opening to set up Malen. The Dutchman scored, and VAR confirmed his offside position.

That’s when it really happened. With everything on the line, Mourinho pulled Vini and brought in Güler and Endrick first. Valverde moved to fullback. Mbappé and Diomande came alive, stringing together a great play that was called off for a very close offside call. Then Bernardo came in, and Madrid started stringing together longer plays. Finally, Carreras and Espí entered the game, and the miracle unfolded down the wings. Endrick cut inside—far more effectively than his predecessor in that position—forcing Roma to retreat and concede corner kicks. That’s where Arda Güler’s left foot came into play, sparking three miraculous moments. The first, from the right, was touched by Endrick and finished off by Espí. It was initially ruled offside, but it wasn’t. The second was struck directly by Endrick, who has springs in his legs. And the third, right at the end, in a tight spot, was finished off by Rüdiger in the six-yard box. An unexpected victory that might just turn the season around. Let’s hope Mou doesn’t fall back into his old ways.