Valverde Leads Real Madrid to 3-2 Champions League Win Over AEK Athens with Late Goal
Real Madrid beat AEK Athens 3-2 on Wednesday with a stoppage-time goal from Federico Valverde, securing their fourth consecutive Champions League win. Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé scored Real Madrid’s other goals, while Moroccan Brahim Díaz set up the winner.
Real Madrid beat AEK Athens 3-2 on Wednesday with a stoppage-time goal from Federico Valverde, securing their fourth consecutive Champions League win. Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé scored Real Madrid’s other goals, while Moroccan Brahim Díaz set up the winner.
AEK Athens took the lead in the 12th minute through Aboubakary Koita, who finished a counterattack started by a pass from Luka Jović. Bellingham equalised in the 32nd minute after an earlier attempt of his was ruled out following a VAR review, then Mbappé put Real Madrid ahead in the 78th minute, after Stavros Pileas had restored the Greek side’s lead in the 75th.
Valverde and Endrick came on as substitutes in the 67th minute, followed by Díaz in the 81st. In the 92nd minute, Díaz passed the ball to Valverde, who scored with a shot from outside the penalty area. Koita was sent off in the closing minutes. The win took Real Madrid to 12 points from four matches, following their earlier victories over Inter Milan, Roma and Leipzig; they host PSV Eindhoven in their next match in the competition on 24 November.