Real Madrid survive scare in Athens with stoppage-time winner

AEK Athens started on the front foot, showing from the opening whistle that they had no intention of merely sitting in a deep defensive block against the heavy favourites. The hosts could have opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute when Majer swung a cross in from the left and Gaćinović struck first-time, forcing a sharp foot save from Thibaut Courtois. The Greeks' confident start was rewarded in the 12th minute. Luka Jović picked out Aboubakary Koita, who gave Courtois no chance with a sublime finish to put the home side in front. The stunned visitors quickly seized the initiative and pinned AEK back into their penalty area. Their attacking efforts paid off just after the half-hour mark. Jude Bellingham had already seen one effort ruled out for offside, but in the 32nd minute, the English midfielder got his name on the scoresheet with a valid strike. Marc Cucurella whipped in a low, driven cross from the left wing, and Bellingham cleverly flicked it past goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli with a deft backheel. Los Blancos piled on heavy pressure before the break, but the home defense—helped by a tactical foul from Arriaga that earned him a yellow card—managed to hold firm until half-time.

Both teams emerged for the second half unchanged, and the opening minutes were marked by a disjointed tempo filled with physical challenges. Real Madrid gradually began creating scoring chances, with Kylian Mbappé particularly lively as he fired narrowly wide from distance. Following a raft of substitutions on both sides, the hosts struck again out of nowhere. In the 75th minute, Koita broke away on a swift counter-attack and delivered a pinpoint cross into the box from the left, allowing the incoming Stavros Pilios to slot the ball through Courtois's legs into the back of the net. Real's response was almost instantaneous. Just three minutes later, Denzel Dumfries picked out an unmarked Mbappé inside the six-yard box from the right flank, and the Frenchman comfortably slotted home to make it 2-2. The visitors turned up the heat in the closing stages. Mbappé came agonizingly close to finding the winner, only to see his effort from a tight angle crash off the crossbar. AEK defended tooth and nail deep into the contest, but they were unable to preserve a famous result. In stoppage time, substitute Federico Valverde unleashed a thunderous strike from outside the area, beating Brignoli to complete a dramatic comeback for the Spanish giants.