Real Madrid refused to let an away night slip. Trailing AEK Athens deep into the second half, they left Greece with a 3–2 Champions League win sealed by Federico Valverde’s long-range strike in the 92nd minute. The substitute, on since the 67th, kept Mourinho’s side perfect in the league phase: four wins, twelve points, level with Paris Saint-Germain at the top.
Aboubakary Koïta had fired AEK ahead on 12 minutes. Jude Bellingham’s back-heel from Marc Cucurella’s delivery levelled on 32 and made him the youngest player to score in seven straight Champions League seasons. Stavros Pilios restored the home lead on 75 after a length-of-the-pitch surge, only for Kylian Mbappé to equalise three minutes later from Denzel Dumfries’ ball — his sixth straight scoring game and a goal in every CL match so far. Brahim Díaz teed up Valverde’s thunderbolt; Koïta was sent off after the whistle as frustration boiled over.
Madrid dominated the ball (about 70%) and outshot AEK 24–9, recovering within minutes whenever the scoreline turned. Mbappé later rattled the crossbar. For AEK it was a third defeat in four; they sit near the foot of the table while the visitors keep chasing an automatic last-16 berth.
Another late European rescue will fuel the narrative around this squad: matches are not over until the fourth official’s board is forgotten. Attention now shifts to the next league-phase fixture and whether the habit of stoppage-time winners can survive a longer winter.
Across league and Europe, Madrid currently look like a side that treats deficits as invitations — a dangerous habit for anyone still left to face them.
