Real Madrid secured a 3-2 comeback victory over AEK Athens at the Allwyn Arena on Wednesday, extending their unbeaten run in the UEFA Champions League group stage to four matches and bringing their points total to 12.
Athens opened the scoring through Aboubakary Koita before Jude Bellingham levelled with a back‑heel flick. Stavros Pilios restored the home side’s lead in the 75th minute, only for Kylian Mbappé to equalise four minutes later. The decisive blow came in the 92nd minute when Federico Valverde struck from distance to clinch all three points for Madrid.
“We won the first game in the last minute. Of course, I prefer to win more comfortably, but these games won in the final minutes… only we can win them. We’re always in the right place when it matters. The players have courage. I’m very lucky to have players of this quality,”said Portuguese manager José Mourinho after the match. He added that Madrid now need “around seven or eight more points to avoid the play‑offs and secure direct qualification for the Round of 16.”
“We played against a very difficult team, who played very well, better than ever. From the first minute, they were very compact, playing direct football… they were full of energy, with great intensity. They’re the reason we didn’t play a perfect game,”Mourinho continued, praising AEK’s performance for preventing a flawless display from the Spanish side.
Mourinho highlighted Jude Bellingham’s contribution, noting that the midfielder marked his 60th Champions League appearance, becoming the youngest player to reach that milestone, and was named Player of the Match. “He’s a unique player; there’s no other midfielder in the world like him… he always delivers hard work, leadership, ambition, quality, attacking runs, goals,” the manager said. He also described Vinícius Júnior’s display as “very decent” and “a very respectable performance,” while commending Valverde for the late winning strike.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
