Valverde’s Late Winner Gives Real Madrid 3–2 Victory at AEK Athens
Real Madrid maintained their perfect start to the 2026/27 Champions League league phase with a 3–2 victory at AEK Athens on 4 November, with Federico Valverde deciding a difficult away match in stoppage time.
UEFA’s results confirm Madrid’s fourth win from four fixtures. Match coverage by beIN Sports and eKathimerini described a contest in which AEK twice moved ahead before the Spanish side recovered to take all three points.
AEK make Madrid work for the points
Aboubakary Koita gave AEK the lead in the 12th minute, with Jude Bellingham equalising in the 32nd. The home side’s resistance continued after the interval, making this a much tighter assignment than Madrid’s previous 4–1 European win over Leipzig.
The match remained unresolved until the closing stages. Valverde’s stoppage-time intervention ultimately separated the teams, denying AEK a point after a performance that had repeatedly threatened Madrid’s winning run.
Four wins establish strong platform
Madrid’s opening sequence also included victories over Inter and Roma. Adding the Athens result leaves them with 12 points at the halfway stage of their eight-match league programme.
The narrow margin is significant alongside that strong points return. Madrid secured the outcome they needed, but the score shows how little separated victory from a dropped-points result on the night.
AEK face another demanding fixture
UEFA’s published calendar lists Madrid’s next Champions League match at home against PSV Eindhoven on 24 November. AEK travel to Como on the same date.
For Madrid, the immediate priority is to carry their winning sequence into the next round. AEK must translate their ability to trouble a leading opponent into points as their own league-phase programme continues.
The Athens match strengthened Madrid’s position, but it did so through a late intervention rather than a comfortable finish. Valverde’s winner preserved the perfect record and supplied the decisive moment of a closely contested European night.
Featured image: illustrative HPW NEWS archive image; it does not depict this specific event.