Valverde late strike secures Real Madrid win over AEK Athens
Real Madrid moved to second in the UEFA Champions League table after defeating AEK Athens FC 3-2 on Wednesday.
Real Madrid secured a 3-2 victory against AEK Athens FC in Athens on Wednesday to climb to second place in the UEFA Champions League table, according to The Tribune. The 15-time champions sit just below defending champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) based on goal difference, with both teams maintaining perfect records after four matches.
In Athens, Aboubakary Koita opened the scoring for the hosts in the 12th minute following an assist from Luka Jovic. Jude Bellingham equalised for Real Madrid in the 32nd minute with a backheel, after an earlier attempt involving Vinicius Jr was ruled offside.
AEK Athens took the lead again in the 75th minute when Stavro Pilo scored from a Koita assist. Kylian Mbappe levelled the score for Madrid in the 78th minute via a Denzel Dumfries cross, before Federico Valverde scored a late winning goal into the top corner.
In a separate match, Cesc Fabregas-managed Como matched the record for the largest win in the tournament's history by defeating RC Lens 9-1. Tasos Douvikas scored a hat-trick for Como with goals in the 7th, 32nd, and 57th minutes.
Other goals for Como were scored by Nico Paz, Lucas da Cunha, and Marc-Oliver Kempf, while Ruben Aguilar scored a consolation goal for Lens. Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina, and Matteo Papaccioli added further goals for Como to seal the win.
In their debut Champions League season, Como have scored 19 goals across four matches, trailing only PSG's 20. Como currently holds a goal difference of +13, while PSG sits at +15.