Valverde's late strike seals Real Madrid's comeback win at AEK Athens

Federico Valverde struck from long range in the 92nd minute to give Real Madrid a 3-2 win at AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday, 4 November. It was a win that had to be earned twice over, because Real trailed twice before they finished ahead.

The home side started well. Aboubakary Koïta put AEK 1-0 up after 12 minutes at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens. Jude Bellingham levelled for Real with a flicked finish, a quick touch with the outside of the boot, from a low cross by Marc Cucurella. The score stayed level until the 75th minute, when Stavros Pilios put AEK 2-1 ahead.

Real did not panic. Kylian Mbappé equalised to make it 2-2, and then Valverde made the decisive move. Shooting from distance, he found the net in the 92th minute, with the match already in its final stretch. The Guardian reported the goals and the late winner in its roundup of the night's European games.

Mbappé's equaliser was his fourth goal in four Champions League matches this season. It was also his 16th goal in all competitions this season, a count that puts him among the sharpest finishers in the squad so far.

The result keeps Real's perfect start intact. They have now won every game in the Champions League group stage, the opening part of the competition where teams play a set number of matches against the same rivals. Across all competitions, this was their seventh straight win. José Mourinho was in charge on the touchline.

This was Matchday 4, the fourth round of group games, so the table is still taking shape. A win away from home in a tight European fixture, decided by a goal in the last few minutes, is the kind of result that tends to matter later in the campaign. For the home supporters, though, the lead they held for most of the second half will be the hard thing to remember.