AEK Athens 2-3 Real Madrid: Valverde settles thriller with injury-time strike

Jose Mourinho's men avoided a humiliating defeat.

AEK Athens 2-3 Real Madrid: Valverde settles thriller with injury-time strike
UEFA Champions League, League Stage – 4
AEK Athens FC AEK
2 – 3
Full Time
Real Madrid REA
venue
Allwyn Arena
referee
Maurizio Mariani
Aboubakary Koita 12′ Stavros Pilios 75′
ball
Jude Bellingham 32′ Kylian Mbappé 78′ Federico Valverde 90+2′

Real Madrid avoided a massive Champions League upset as they came from behind to beat AEK Athens 3-2.

Aboubakary Koita gave AEK the lead just 12 minutes into an absorbing contest with a rasping left-footed strike, only for Jude Bellingham to level matters with a superb flicked finish.

Yet AEK appeared set for a famous result when Stavros Pilos fired through the legs of Thibaut Courtois 15 minutes from the end of normal time.

But Kylian Mbappe restored parity once more, and AEK hearts were broken in injury time when Federico Valverde fired a stunning strike into the far corner.

More to follow

The signs that this would not be an easy assignment for Madrid were there early on, with Courtois required to deny Mijat Gaćinović with his legs at the end of a well-worked fifth-minute counter-attack from the hosts.

Yet there was nothing Courtois could do to deny Koita after the Mauritania international jinked into the box before unleashing an unstoppable effort into the top-right corner.

Courtois had to produce a smart stop to prevent Luka Jović doubling the lead by scoring against his former club, before Bellingham saw a leveller ruled out for offside following a VAR check.

However, Bellingham had his goal moments later, as he turned home Marc Cucurella’s low left-wing cross in impudent fashion with a sublime display of technique.

Cucurella then went close to putting Madrid in front, but found Alberto Brignoli equal to his effort. The hosts were grateful to the Italian for preserving parity five minutes into the second half as he kept out an awkward dipping strike from Eder Militao, before Mbappe was guilty of surprising profligacy as he fired narrowly wide to spurn a gilt-edged chance.

And Madrid were punished for failing to make their superiority count as Pilos, who minutes earlier had made a crucial block to deny Mbappe, capped another excellent AEK break by exchanging passes with Koita and firing under Courtois at the near post.

But the home fans were barely allowed the chance to dream of a momentous upset as Mbappe resumed normal service, Bellingham sending Dumfries free down the right side of the area to cross for the France star to tap in from point-blank range.

Brignoli performed heroics to tip a fierce Mbappe strike onto the crossbar, but he could do nothing to keep out Valverde’s swerving drive as Madrid made it four wins from four in the Champions League and claimed their seventh successive victory in all competitions.

AEK Athens FC Real Madrid

2 Goals 3
0.95 xG 3.4
30% Possession 70%
9 Total Shots 24
5 Shots on Target 8
2 Shots off Target 9
0 Corners 7
9 Fouls 16
0 Offsides 2
1 Yellow Cards 1
5 Saves 3
274 Passes 628
233 Passes Completed 579
85% Pass Accuracy 92%
Home
Away

The UEFA Champions League Table

UEFA Champions League 2026

World

# Team Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Pts Last 4
1 Paris Saint Germain 4 4 0 0 20 5 15 12
W W W W
2 Barcelona 4 3 0 1 14 6 8 9
W L W W
3 Aston Villa 4 3 0 1 12 6 6 9
L W W W
4 Liverpool 3 3 0 0 12 7 5 9
L W W
5 Real Madrid 3 3 0 0 10 5 5 9
W W W
6 Sporting CP 4 3 0 1 8 4 4 9
W L W W
7 Real Betis 3 3 0 0 7 4 3 9
W W W
8 Bayern München 4 2 2 0 12 5 7 8
W D D W
9 Arsenal 3 2 1 0 6 2 4 7
D W W
10 VfB Stuttgart 4 2 1 1 7 4 3 7
L D W W
11 Como 3 2 0 1 10 5 5 6
W L W
12 Manchester City 3 2 0 1 9 5 4 6
W L W
13 Club Brugge KV 3 2 0 1 9 6 3 6
W W L
14 Inter 4 2 0 2 8 6 2 6
W W L L
15 Lask Linz 4 2 0 2 10 9 1 6
W W L L
16 Borussia Dortmund 3 2 0 1 5 4 1 6
W L W
17 Manchester United 4 2 0 2 8 8 0 6
W L L W
18 Galatasaray 4 2 0 2 8 9 -1 6
W W L L
19 AS Roma 4 1 1 2 10 8 2 4
L W L D
20 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 1 1 2 4 4 0 4
L L W D
21 PSV Eindhoven 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
W L D
22 Atletico Madrid 4 1 1 2 4 5 -1 4
L D W L
23 Bodo/Glimt 4 1 1 2 4 9 -5 4
D L W L
24 Napoli 3 1 0 2 5 7 -2 3
W L L
25 Sabah FA 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
L W L
26 Lens 3 1 0 2 3 7 -4 3
L L W
27 AEK Athens FC 3 1 0 2 3 8 -5 3
L L L
28 RB Leipzig 3 1 0 2 3 8 -5 3
L W L
29 Villarreal 4 1 0 3 8 14 -6 3
L L W L
30 Feyenoord 4 1 0 3 4 11 -7 3
L L W L
31 Fenerbahçe 3 0 2 1 3 9 -6 2
W D L
32 Slavia Praha 3 0 1 2 4 7 -3 1
D L L
33 Viking 3 0 1 2 5 9 -4 1
L D L
34 Lille 4 0 1 3 4 10 -6 1
D L L L
35 FC Porto 3 0 0 3 2 6 -4 0
L L L
36 Slovan Bratislava 4 0 0 4 1 17 -16 0
L L L L
  • Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 : Promotion – Champions League (Play Offs: 1/8-finals)
  • Position 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 : Promotion – Champions League (Play Offs: 1/16-finals)

Upcoming fixtures for AEK Athens FC and Real Madrid

Upcoming Fixtures : AEK Athens FC

  • UEFA Champions League
    Como COM
    20:00 2026-11-24
    AEK Athens FC AEK
  • UEFA Champions League
    AEK Athens FC AEK
    20:00 2026-12-08
    Galatasaray GAL
  • UEFA Champions League
    AEK Athens FC AEK
    20:00 2027-01-19
    AS Roma ROM
  • UEFA Champions League
    Borussia Dortmund DOR
    20:00 2027-01-27
    AEK Athens FC AEK

Upcoming Fixtures : Real Madrid

  • La Liga
    Valencia VAL
    20:00 2026-11-07
    Real Madrid REA
  • La Liga
    Real Madrid REA
    16:00 2026-11-22
    Celta Vigo CEL
  • UEFA Champions League
    Real Madrid REA
    20:00 2026-11-24
    PSV Eindhoven PSV
  • La Liga
    Real Madrid REA
    16:00 2026-11-29
    Alaves ALA
  • La Liga
    Athletic Club BIL
    16:00 2026-12-06
    Real Madrid REA