Real Madrid faced matchday four of the Champions League as one of the few teams in the competition that was still undefeated. With nine points out of a possible nine, the white team arrived in Athens with the intention of maintaining their unbeaten status in search of direct qualification.
A priori, José Mourinho’s men arrived as clear favorites to take the three points to Madrid. However, European competition does not forgive. A team’s favoritism can disappear in a second, and that is what happened at the Allwyn Arena. The Portuguese coach put out an eleven with several changes, all of them competitive. Militao, Dumfries, Camavinga and Vinicius returned to the starting team with the aim of giving continuity and minutes to the entire squad.
The match did not start as expected.. From the first moment, Madrid showed signs of not having entered the game. Courtois had to intervene shortly after the match began to save the Greeks’ first goal. A shot from Gacinovic from point-blank range could have made the score 1-0, but the Belgian appeared again, as is customary. AEK had another one, but Jovic’s header ended up tame in the hands of Courtois.
The locals had already sent two warnings and, as is typical of the Champions League, mistakes pay dearly. The lack of defensive intensity allowed Koitain a great individual play, surpassed Courtois with a powerful shot that slipped into the back of the net. The surprise came in Athens. Madrid, against the ropes in the first minutes.
After the goal, AEK extended its good minutes. Far from cowering in the face of a possible Madrid arson, the Greeks showed enough personality to continue generating danger. Meanwhile, Mourinho’s men tried to shake off their blemishes and start creating opportunities.
Vinicius timidly tried, and it wasn’t until the 28th minute of the game when the whites gave the first scare. The Brazilian finished off after a corner was rebound and Bellinghamalmost unintentionally, deflected the ball to tie the game. However, the VAR intervention returned the score to 1-0 due to a millimeter offside.
Without time to recover, the Greeks eventually succumbed to the pressure. In one of the few clear-sighted occasions for the white team, Cucurella placed a great center for Bellinghamwith subtlety and magic, put the ball close to the left post after contacting the ball with his spur.
A work of art that restored equality on the scoreboard in the 32nd minute of the game. Madrid chased the 1-2 lead until the end of the first half, but the Greek defense and an unsuccessful Vinicius caused the 22 protagonists to go to the locker room with a 1-1 tie.
Real Madrid comes back in a crazy match in Athens
After the start of the second 45 minutes, the whites tried to impose their rhythm. With the need to get ahead on the scoreboard, the whites began to clearly dominate the match, but the chances were long in coming. The inaccuracies in the final third of the field prevented Real Madrid from creating clear chances on Brignoli’s goal.
It wasn’t until the 55th minute when the whites showed signs of their offensive danger. A good play Mbappe On the right side he left Cucurella alone to finish at will, but his shot ended up being blocked by the rear. Madrid felt comfortable on the pitch and began to press high to create problems for the Greeks to get the ball out.
The French forward did not stop tryingwho had the second in his boots on two occasions. With the game completely split, the two teams began their open attack. AEK timidly approached Courtois’ goal, but the initiative came from the meringues’ side.
And in that exchange of blows, Madrid came out badly. AEK, in one of the clearest moments of the second half for the hosts, put the second on the scoreboard. The play on the left wing ended with a good back pass for Pilo which gave the three points momentarily to the locals.
After the goal against, Madrid knew how to react quickly. A good cross from the right by Dumfries allowed Mbappé scored at will to tie the game again after three minutes. And from there, the white team attacked. Mbappé had it for the third, but Brignoli avoided it with a save.
And without time for much more, The minutes have arrived where Madrid is king. When the game was dying, when the tie did not seem to be worth the white team, José Mourinho’s men, as on so many occasions, they turned the score. A trademark shot from the house Fede Valverde allowed Madrid to take the three points ‘in extremis’.
In this way, the meringues remained undefeated in the Champions League and placed themselves in the second place, only behind PSG and tied on points with the French team. A discreet and very questionable match by the team led by the Portuguese coach but which ended up billing for approach direct classification.
