Game Day Review: Champions League Matchday 4, Real Madrid
New to the Champions League?
If the World Cup at Gillette got you hooked on soccer, this is your next stop. The UEFA Champions League is Europe's biggest club tournament, and plenty of fans rank it right behind the World Cup. The best teams from England, Spain, Germany, France and more play to find out who is the best club in Europe. It kicked off on Sept. 8 and ends with the final in Madrid on June 5. This year 36 teams share one big table and each plays eight games. The top eight go straight to the round of 16, teams in 9th through 24th play a knockout round in February, and the rest are done. The games are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
11/4/26: Real Madrid 3, AEK Athens 2
Real Madrid needed a stoppage-time rocket from Federico Valverde to beat AEK Athens 3-2 in Athens on Wednesday. It was Madrid's second straight comeback win, and it kept them perfect at four wins in four games.
AEK did not play like the underdog. Aboubakary Koita put the hosts up in the 12th minute off a pass from former Madrid forward Luka Jović, and Jude Bellingham tied it in the 32nd, which made him the youngest player to score in seven straight Champions League seasons. Madrid had about 70 percent of the ball and outshot AEK 24-9, but the finishing took a while. Stavros Pilios put AEK back in front in the 75th minute.
Madrid answered fast. Kylian Mbappé tied it in the 78th off a Denzel Dumfries pass, and Valverde, a second-half sub, won it in the 92nd minute with a long-range blast set up by Brahim Díaz. Koita was sent off in stoppage time for abusive language.
"Only we can win them," coach José Mourinho said about those late games. AEK coach Marko Nikolic said his team wasted a four-on-two break that could have changed the night.
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Around the Champions League
Tuesday, 11/3: Shakhtar Donetsk 0, Sporting CP 1 · Galatasaray 2, Stuttgart 0 · Atlético Madrid 0, Bayern Munich 2 · Barcelona 3, Aston Villa 0 · Feyenoord 0, Inter 3 · Bodø/Glimt 0, Lille 0 · LASK 4, Slovan Bratislava 0 · Manchester United 3, Roma 2 · Villarreal 0, Paris Saint-Germain 6
Wednesday, 11/4: Fenerbahçe 3, Liverpool 2 · Dortmund 2, Real Betis 1 · Porto 4, Napoli 1 · PSV Eindhoven 1, Club Brugge 2 · Leipzig 2, Manchester City 3 · Lens 1, Como 9 · Slavia Praha 1, Arsenal 2 · Viking 4, Sabah 1
Como's 9-1 win at Lens was the wildest score of the week. PSG and Madrid both have 12 points, with PSG on top on goal difference.
Up next: Matchday 5
After the international break, the league phase picks back up on Nov. 24 and 25.
Tuesday, 11/24: Bodø/Glimt vs. LASK · Galatasaray vs. Aston Villa · Arsenal vs. Dortmund · Como vs. AEK Athens · Feyenoord vs. Porto · Manchester City vs. Napoli · Leipzig vs. Lens · Real Madrid vs. PSV Eindhoven · Slovan Bratislava vs. Real Betis
Wednesday, 11/25: Sabah vs. Barcelona · Slavia Praha vs. Villarreal · Atlético Madrid vs. Viking · Club Brugge vs. Liverpool · Inter vs. Stuttgart · Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Fenerbahçe · Lille vs. Bayern Munich · Paris Saint-Germain vs. Roma · Sporting CP vs. Manchester United
Madrid is home against PSV on the 24th, so that's the one to watch.
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