Fifteen-time European champions Real Madrid produced another of their trademark Champions League escapes on Wednesday night, coming from behind twice to beat AEK Athens 3-2 at the OPAP Arena and keep their perfect record in the league phase intact. Captain Federico Valverde struck in the 92nd minute with a trademark long-range missile, capping a frantic evening in Athens and extending Madrid’s winning run to seven games in all competitions.
Twice Behind, Twice Level: How the Goals Went In
The night started badly for José Mourinho’s side. After just 12 minutes, AEK winger Aboubakary Koïta skipped past Marc Cucurella and lashed a near-post effort beyond Thibaut Courtois to send the home crowd into delirium. Madrid thought they had an instant reply when Jude Bellingham turned in Vinícius Júnior’s shot, but the flag went up for a marginal offside and the goal was chalked off.
The equaliser did arrive before the break, and it was worth the wait. On his 60th Champions League appearance — making him the youngest player ever to reach that milestone — Bellingham flicked Cucurella’s low cross into the bottom corner with an audacious backheel finish in the 32nd minute.
AEK stunned Madrid again in the 75th minute when Koïta turned provider, sliding a low cross across the box for Stavros Pilios to fire through Courtois’s legs. The lead lasted just three minutes: Bellingham slipped Denzel Dumfries in on the right, and the Dutchman’s low ball across the six-yard box was tapped home by Kylian Mbappé in the 78th minute.
Bellingham’s Backheel and the Disallowed Goal
The first half belonged to Bellingham. The England international had the ball in the net twice before the interval, only for his first effort — a close-range finish from Vinícius’s shot — to be ruled out for offside. He did not have to wait long for redemption. His backheel in the 32nd minute was a goal that only the very best players even attempt, let alone convert, and it kept Madrid level at a point in the evening when Athens was getting louder by the minute.
The midfielder’s influence did not stop there. With AEK ahead 2-1 in the second half, it was Bellingham who started the move for the second equaliser, playing Dumfries through with a perfectly weighted pass. He then kept driving Madrid forward as the clock ticked down, embodying the refusal to lose that has defined this club’s European nights.
Valverde’s Stoppage-Time Stunner Keeps Madrid Perfect
As the game entered its final minutes, it looked as though Madrid would have to settle for a point. Mbappé rattled the crossbar in the 86th minute from a delicious trivela pass by substitute Endrick, and AEK goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli was growing in stature. Then, with just seconds of stoppage time played, substitute Federico Valverde was afforded too much space outside the area and unleashed a rocket into the top-right corner.
It was a goal entirely in keeping with the captain’s reputation — he only scores screamers — and one of the best strikes of this season’s Champions League. It also wrote a small piece of history: Madrid have now scored 49 goals in stoppage time in the Champions League, more than any other club in the competition’s history.
There was still time for late drama of a different kind, as Koïta was sent off in the fifth minute of added time, ending a night that had started so brightly for him on a sour note.
What the Result Means for the Champions League Standings
The victory makes it four wins from four for Madrid in the league phase — following triumphs over Inter Milan, Roma and RB Leipzig — and keeps them firmly in the hunt for an automatic place in the last 16. AEK, meanwhile, remain on three points from four games, with the win over LASK their only success so far against defeats to Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City and now Madrid.
For Mourinho, the evening was a reminder of the work still to do. His side trailed twice, conceded from two sharp AEK breaks and needed their captain to bail them out. But it was also the kind of night that builds the aura of champions: undefeated in Europe, winning in all sorts of ways, and — as ever — never beaten until the final whistle blows.
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