Federico Valverde struck a thunderous stoppage-time winner as Real Madrid staged another dramatic Champions League comeback to beat AEK Athens 3-2 in Greece on Wednesday.
Aboubakary Koita put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute before Jude Bellingham produced a stylish equaliser 20 minutes later. Stavros Pilios restored AEK’s lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for Kylian Mbappé to level almost immediately. Valverde then completed the turnaround in the second minute of added time with a superb strike from the edge of the box into the top corner.
The late drama extended Madrid’s perfect record in the competition and marked a second successive breathtaking away recovery, following their 4-3 win at Roma after trailing 3-1 with seven minutes left.
It was a record-breaking night for Bellingham. At 23 years and 128 days old, he became the youngest player to reach 60 Champions League appearances, surpassing Iker Casillas. He also set a new mark as the youngest player to score in seven consecutive seasons in the competition, overtaking Mbappé’s previous record.
AEK started brightly and took the lead when Koita finished a pass from Luka Jovic. Bellingham thought he had equalised from a corner in the 28th minute, only for VAR to rule it out for offside. He made no mistake four minutes later, producing a brilliant backheel finish from Marc Cucurella’s delivery.
Pilios sent the home crowd wild late on by firing through Thibaut Courtois’ legs, but Mbappé quickly cancelled it out by meeting Denzel Dumfries’ cross. Valverde’s late stunner then secured the points, leaving AEK heartbroken. Koita was shown a red card after the final whistle.