Valverde Stoppage-Time Winner Rescues Real Madrid 3-2 at AEK Athens

Federico Valverde struck deep into stoppage time to give Real Madrid a dramatic and deserved 3-2 win at AEK Athens in the Champions League. His 90th-plus-second-minute winner, set up by substitute Brahim Diaz, completed another late escape for the Spanish giants and ended AEK's seven-match home winning run in the competition.

The match was frantic from the start. Aboubakary Koita put AEK ahead in the 12th minute, and Jude Bellingham equalised in the 32nd after a goal had earlier been disallowed by VAR. Stavros Pilios restored the home lead in the 75th, but Kylian Mbappe levelled only three minutes later to keep Madrid alive.

Koita was sent off late for AEK as tempers flared. Real Madrid now have 12 points from four games, level with PSG, who lead on goal difference. The result extends a pattern of resilience, though their recurring need for late heroics will raise questions about whether they can sustain this when the knockout rounds arrive.