Business Fortune: AEK vs Real Madrid: Valverde Wins 3-2

AEK vs Real Madrid: Valverde's Stoppage-Time Stunner Completes Wild Comeback in Athens

AEK vs Real Madrid finished 3-2 as Federico Valverde's late strike kept Madrid perfect in the Champions League.

A stoppage time winner from Federico Valverde helped Real Madrid clinch a 3-2 victory against AEK Athens on Wednesday night.

Real Madrid 3-2 AEK Athens

Real Madrid beat AEK Athens 3-2 in the Champions League league phase on Nov 4, 2026. They were awarded a second minute added time winner from Valverde after overcoming the odds to go from behind twice. The three points puts Madrid on 12 points from four games, putting them level with Paris Saint-Germain.

What happened?

AEK kicked off the match brightly. In the 12th minute they were awarded the lead after Aboubakary Koita ran through the defensive line on the edge of the box, slotting past Antonio Ruediger and Marc Cucurella into the bottom corner of the net. The assist came from their former Madrid striker Luka Jovic.

Jude Bellingham would find himself celebrating an equaliser in the 28th minute but the VAR showed that he was offside. However, he wouldn’t be made to wait long and scored his second goal of the match four minutes later after flicking the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards out. The assist was from Cucurella.

However after half time there were numerous chances for Real Madrid. Cucurella failed to chip the ball into the back of the net as he was left unmarked and Kylian Mbappé found him. Lazaros Rota slid in the box to block the shot.

Stavros Pilios restored AEK’s advantage in the 75th minute after running through the defence to shoot past Courtois. Three minutes later Mbappé equalised after a cross from Denzel Dumfries. Valverde put the visitors ahead again after driving the ball into the top corner. Koita was given a red card as he protested at the final whistle.

Why was it historic for Jude Bellingham?

It was a historic night for Jude Bellingham. He broke two records, becoming the youngest player to reach 60 appearances for the Champions League. He is now the youngest ever after surpassing Iker Casillas’s record of 23 years and 167 days back in 2004. He is now also the youngest player to score in seven consecutive seasons after scoring the winning goal.

What did Mourinho say?

Mourinho praised his players. "There’s no one in the world like him. He’s a unique player,” Jose Mourinho said (ESPN). He praised AEK’s compact style of play which meant they couldn’t play a perfect game. He also claimed that the three points have seen them qualify due to reaching 12 points. His aim is to finish within the top eight.

What does it mean for the table?

Real Madrid has now won all four of their league phase games and their winning streak continues as they have won seven in a row. However, they last played in the Champions League and won 4-3 at Roma after falling 3-1 down in the last seven minutes. AEK currently have three points from four games.

Know More

The game started at 5:45PM GMT at the OPAP Arena.

This is the fourth time these two teams have faced each other. AEK won 1-0 and Madrid won 5-0 in a UEFA Cup clash back in 1985. In 2002 they drew 3-3 in the group stages in Athens and drew 2-2 in Madrid.

Real Madrid still has four games left to play in the league phase. They will face PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal, LASK Linz and Shakhtar Donetsk (Sports Mole).

AEK lost 2-0 to Panathinaikos in the Greek Superliga on Nov 1. (Real Madrid)

Bellingham has scored five goals and provided four assists in 15 games this season across all competitions.

AEK vs Real Madrid was another chaotic encounter like we have become used to from Madrid. They came from behind twice and Valverde scored the winning goal to keep their perfect record intact. Business Fortune concludes this story as Bellingham made history and now Mourinho’s side can look to finish inside the top eight with four games left to play.