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Real Madrid captain Ernesto Valverde scored a stunning 92nd-minute winner to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory over AEK Athens after the visitors fought back from a 2-1 deficit.
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Jude Bellingham restored parity in the first half with an impressive individual effort, becoming the second-youngest player to score in seven consecutive Champions League seasons at 23 years and 128 days.
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Kylian Mbappe scored his fourth goal in four Champions League appearances this season, bringing Real Madrid back into the contest just three minutes after Stavros Pilios had given AEK a 2-1 lead.
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The victory extended Real Madrid’s winning run to seven matches across all competitions and maintained their perfect Champions League record, lifting them to second place with 12 points from four matches.
November 04, (THEWILL) – Real Madrid captain Ernesto Valverde scored a stunning stoppage-time goal to lead the team to a 3-2 win over AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The win was enough to maintain Real Madrid’s perfect start in the competition after they fought back from a 2-1 deficit to score two goals in 15 minutes.
Aboubakary Koita drove in a powerful finish to put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute.
Jude Bellingham restored parity for Real Madrid with a fine individual goal in the 32nd minute.
He became the second-youngest player to score in seven successive Champions League seasons, surpassing teammate Mbappe at the age of 23 years and 128 days.
Stavros Pilios finished off his impressive run with a cool finish to make it 2-1 in the 75th minute.
Three minutes later, Mbappe brought Real Madrid back into the game with a close-range finish.
It was Mbappe’s fourth goal in four Champions League games this season, netting once in each, and his 16th across all competitions.
Valverde scored a stunning goal from outside the box to hand Real Madrid the maximum points in the 92nd minute.
Koita was sent off for AEK Athens in the 95th minute.
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Real Madrid have now won their last seven matches in all competitions.
Jose Mourinho was full of praise for Ernesto Valverde for his match-winning performance in the encounter.
He said: “Fede has that capability… (but) I didn’t ask him to shoot.
“I told him that the game was wide open; it was being played at great speed… a fresh player like Fede, with his ability to cover a lot of ground, I told him to attack the space and arrive in the dangerous areas.
“We fought for (the victory), and with the score at 2–2 we didn’t settle.
“It would always be an acceptable result; we’d be on 10 points, but we wanted more.”
Real Madrid will return to action in the La Liga against Valencia on Sunday.
The win lifted Real Madrid to second on the Champions League log with 12 points from four matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding seven.
