Roma learns the lesson after collapse against Real Madrid

Marten de Roon struggled to process Roma's 3–4 loss to Real Madrid on 14 October, describing the result as painful despite what he felt was a dominant display. Speaking to Prime Video after the match, the midfielder said: "I find it hard to comment on this match. It's a great shame, this is a heavy result. We played a great match and dominated Real Madrid for 80 minutes." De Roon acknowledged Real Madrid's quality emerged through their substitutions but felt Roma's defending had been sound until set pieces became a liability. He concluded: "Their quality came out with the substitutions, but we had defended well. Except for corners, we were too static, too still. We defended poorly, that's part of the game."

Donyell Malen spoke to Prime Video after Roma's 3–4 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League. The forward expressed his disappointment at the result, saying: "Great disappointment, because we hoped to go through, but they managed to score. There is a great connection, we are a great squad, however there are things that did not go well, we need to talk about them." Malen was asked about his personal feelings on Roma's performance in the competition. He acknowledged the team's quality while emphasising the need for internal discussion about what went wrong. The match saw Roma concede four goals, a setback in their European campaign this season.

Pierluigi Gollini expressed deep disappointment after Roma's defeat to Real Madrid in the second matchday of the Champions League, saying the side's collapse from set pieces had spoiled an otherwise dominant display. Playing against one of Europe's elite, Roma controlled the match for 80 to 90 minutes with a strong physical and tactical performance, but conceded three set-piece goals that undermined all that work. "It is difficult to explain, it hurts a lot," Gollini said. "We played the match in a sumptuous way. It would have been a beautiful evening for us and our fans. We fell short on one detail—set pieces. I haven't watched the goals yet honestly, but we could all have done more. It's a shame; three set pieces were enough to spoil and squander a performance. We are left with the bitterness of this match, despite 80–90% of the game being positive. It's a pity." Gasperini addressed the squad after the final whistle, instructing each player to reflect on what they could have done better. The goalkeeper acknowledged the psychological impact of conceding similar goals in quick succession: "When you concede a goal in that way and another one the same, it's normal that fears set in, perhaps a negative thought. Taking two goals in the same manner means a bit more concern on the third. That's part of football. We know what we need to do—analyse these goals and move on from what we did brilliantly tonight. It would be a pity to throw it away." Gollini emphasized his own contribution: "I felt very good on the pitch. I had to make a few saves, but that's normal against teams of this calibre. I saw a great Roma physically and tactically." Looking ahead, he adopted a day-by-day approach: "After Como I thought about Real Madrid; from tomorrow I think about Genoa. I take it day by day, trying to prepare myself as best I can and give my contribution to help this squad stay high and produce beautiful performances."