diff --git a/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/Remote.scala b/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/Remote.scala
index 3963d5789..6e0376334 100644
--- a/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/Remote.scala
+++ b/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/Remote.scala
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ case class Remote(base: String, logger: Option[Logger] = None) extends Repositor
         for {
           xml <- \/.fromEither(eitherXml)
           _ = logger.foreach(_.other(url, "is XML"))
-          _ <- if (xml.label == "project") \/-(()) else -\/("Project definition not found")
+          _ <- if (xml.label == "project") \/-(()) else -\/(s"Project definition not found (got '${xml.label}')")
           _ = logger.foreach(_.other(url, "project definition found"))
           proj <- Xml.project(xml)
           _ = logger.foreach(_.other(url, "project definition ok"))
diff --git a/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/compatibility/package.scala b/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/compatibility/package.scala
index 86c0a614d..4c57573d7 100644
--- a/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/compatibility/package.scala
+++ b/core-js/src/main/scala/coursier/core/compatibility/package.scala
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ package object compatibility {
     js.Dynamic.newInstance(defn)()
   }
 
+  // Can't find these from node
+  val ELEMENT_NODE = 1 // org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node.ELEMENT_NODE
+  val TEXT_NODE = 3 // org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node.TEXT_NODE
+
   def fromNode(node: org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node): Xml.Node = {
 
     val node0 = node.asInstanceOf[js.Dynamic]
@@ -53,15 +57,16 @@ package object compatibility {
           .map(l => List.tabulate(l.length)(l.item).map(fromNode))
           .getOrElse(Nil)
 
+      // `exists` instead of `contains`, for scala 2.10
       def isText =
         option[Int](node0.nodeType)
-          .exists(_ == 3) //org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node.TEXT_NODE
+          .exists(_ == TEXT_NODE)
       def textContent =
         option(node0.textContent)
           .getOrElse("")
       def isElement =
         option[Int](node0.nodeType)
-          .exists(_ == 1) // org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node.ELEMENT_NODE
+          .exists(_ == ELEMENT_NODE)
 
       override def toString =
         XMLSerializer.serializeToString(node).asInstanceOf[String]
@@ -72,10 +77,18 @@ package object compatibility {
   def xmlParse(s: String): Either[String, Xml.Node] = {
     val doc = {
       if (s.isEmpty) None
-      else
-        dynOption(DOMParser.parseFromString(s, "text/xml"))
-          .flatMap(t => dynOption(t.childNodes))
-          .flatMap(l => l.asInstanceOf[js.Array[js.Dynamic]].headOption.flatMap(option[org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node]))
+      else {
+        for {
+          xmlDoc <- dynOption(DOMParser.parseFromString(s, "text/xml"))
+          rootNodes <- dynOption(xmlDoc.childNodes)
+          // From node, rootNodes.head is sometimes just a comment instead of the main root node
+          // (tested with org.ow2.asm:asm-commons in CentralTests)
+          rootNode <- rootNodes.asInstanceOf[js.Array[js.Dynamic]]
+            .flatMap(option[org.scalajs.dom.raw.Node])
+            .dropWhile(_.nodeType != ELEMENT_NODE)
+            .headOption
+        } yield rootNode
+      }
     }
 
     Right(doc.fold(Xml.Node.empty)(fromNode))