AEK Athens 2-3 Real Madrid: Valverde's rocket earns Mourinho's side a last-gasp win

Real Madrid, looking to keep their unbeaten Champions League run going, won 3-2 away at AEK Athens thanks to a stunning 92nd-minute strike from Federico Valverde.

The hosts twice went ahead through goals from Aboubakary Koita, who was sent off after the final whistle, and Stavros Pilios. But Real Madrid levelled each time through Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé, before Valverde's rocket from outside the box secured all three points at the ALLWYN Arena.

Thibaut Courtois kept out an early effort from Mijat Gacinovic, but was left helpless in the 12th minute. Koita cut quickly onto his left foot, got past Marc Cucurella and drilled a powerful shot in at the near post to put AEK 1-0 up.

Courtois came to the rescue again to deny former Real Madrid striker Luka Jović and keep the gap at one, while the visitors' first clear chance fell to Mbappé, who failed to hit the target after Yan Diomande turned the ball back to him.

Bellingham, who had a goal ruled out around the half-hour mark, pulled his side level with a deft touch in the 32nd minute. The England star met Cucurella's low cross with a skilful finish at the far post: 1-1.

Real Madrid started the second half on the front foot, but Lazaros Rota cleared Cucurella's shot off the line and Pilios slid in to block a fierce low drive from Mbappé.

AEK went ahead once more in the 75th minute. Pilios burst into the box and slotted the ball through Courtois's legs to make it 2-1. The Greek side's celebrations lasted only three minutes, however, as Mbappé got a touch on Denzel Dumfries's cross in front of goal to make it 2-2.

Just as hopes of a win seemed to be fading when Mbappé's shot from Endrick's trivela pass crashed off the crossbar, Federico Valverde stepped up. Collecting the ball in the 92nd minute, the Uruguayan star unleashed a rocket into the far corner from outside the box, handing José Mourinho's side yet another comeback victory.

The nightmare did not end with the final whistle for AEK: Koita was shown a red card after the match for vehemently protesting to the referee.

Mourinho's men pull it off again

Having trailed 3-1 against Roma going into the 82nd minute in the second round of fixtures before winning 4-3, Real Madrid once again showed their character in the closing stages to take all three points in Greece.

Los Blancos became only the second team to score a winning goal after the 90th minute in more than one away game in a single Champions League season (after Atlético Madrid in 2021-22).

With an expected goals (xG) advantage of 3.35 to 0.87, Mourinho will argue that his side fully deserved the win; however, AEK had the edge in creating clear-cut chances (3 to 2) over the 90 minutes.

For Real Madrid, the individual quality of Bellingham and Valverde defined the game. Scoring his 10th Champions League goal, the England star became only the second midfielder in the club's history to reach that tally, after Guti (16). Bellingham also became the youngest player to score in seven consecutive Champions League seasons (23 years, 128 days).

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé became the fifth player to reach 100 direct goal contributions (74 goals, 26 assists) in the Champions League. The only player to reach the milestone in fewer games than the French star is Lionel Messi (101 games).