AEK took the lead twice on the break, and Madrid came back twice from full-back crosses. Valverde, back from injury and on as a substitute, won it with a shot from distance in added time.
The numbers
| Real Madrid | AEK Athens | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 70% | 30% |
| Shots | 24 | 9 |
| Shots on target | 8 | 5 |
| xG | 3.39 | 0.78 |
| Touches in opp. box | 44 | 15 |
| Corners | 6 | 0 |
| Fouls | 17 | 8 |
Result the chances deserved: Real Madrid 86% / 9% / AEK Athens 5% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois, Dumfries, Militão, Rüdiger, Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Camavinga, Diomande, Bellingham, Vinícius Jr, Mbappé.
AEK Athens (4-4-2): Brignoli, Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios, Koïta, Arriaga, Kairinen, Majer, Gaćinović, Jović.
AEK Athens subs: Zini (53', for Majer), Marin (60', Gaćinović), Varga (60', Kairinen), Zubkov (88', Jović). AEK coach: Marko Nikolić.
Goals, assists and sub minutes from FotMob; line-ups, benches and cards also from UEFA's match sheet. Booked: Arriaga (34', dissent) and Cucurella (66'). Sent off: Koïta, in added time, for abusive language (FotMob). Before the equaliser, Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review, and Mbappé hit the crossbar at 86' after a Brignoli save (Real Madrid). Shots on target, corners and fouls from UEFA's match stats (via Bundesliga.com). VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo. FotMob's player of the match: Bellingham (8.6). Attendance 30,368 (UEFA).
Key moments, move by move
- Jović lays the ball off to Koïta on AEK's right.
- Koïta cuts inside on to his left foot, between Cucurella, Rüdiger and Camavinga.
- He beats Courtois at the near post.
- Cucurella gets forward down the left.
- He crosses low across the box.
- Bellingham flicks it in with his heel past Brignoli.
- AEK win the ball and break, with Pilios going forward from left-back.
- He plays it inside to Koïta and keeps running.
- Koïta pulls it back to him.
- Pilios sweeps it past Courtois.
- Bellingham sends Dumfries away down the right.
- Dumfries crosses low across the six-yard box.
- Mbappé taps it in at the far post.
- Brahim Díaz carries the ball across the edge of the box.
- He lays it off to Valverde, about 25 yards out.
- Valverde's shot swerves away from Brignoli into the far corner.
Madrid had the ball and went round AEK's block; AEK broke when the full-backs had gone
- Five changes: Mourinho rested five starters from Racing (Real Madrid), so Dumfries, Militão, Rüdiger, Camavinga and Vinícius Jr started, with Bernardo Silva and Camavinga as the pivot (FotMob). "At 2-1, I was going to make three changes, but then we scored the 2-2," he said, and he also had Valencia three days later in mind (Real Madrid).
- AEK's plan: a 4-4-2 with Gaćinović up front beside Jović (FotMob). Mourinho called them "very well organized, pressing, compact at the back, and with direct play" and said they played differently from usual (Real Madrid). They had 30% of the ball and nine shots for 0.78 xG, but five were on target and two went in (FotMob, UEFA). Courtois saved from Gaćinović early on and from Jović before the opener (Real Madrid).
- Madrid's way round: 70% of the ball, 24 shots and 44 touches in AEK's box to 15 (FotMob). The middle was crowded, so both open-play equalisers came from full-back crosses: Cucurella's low ball for Bellingham at 32' and Dumfries's for Mbappé at 78' (FotMob). Rota cleared a Cucurella shot off the line and Brignoli saved from Militão and Mbappé (Real Madrid).
- The bench: at 2–2 Mourinho sent on Espí to play "two strikers plus two wide wingers" (Real Madrid). Valverde, on at 67', scored the winner from Brahim Díaz's lay-off in added time, eleven minutes after Brahim came on (FotMob). FotMob had Madrid on 3.39 xG, their third-highest of the season.
Tactical scenes
With Madrid camped in their half, AEK went forward quickly when they won it. Early on, Majer's cut-back found Gaćinović and Courtois saved (Flashscore). Both goals were quick open-play moves set up by a forward: Jović for Koïta at 12', Koïta for the left-back Pilios at 75' (FotMob). Mourinho said AEK "counterattacked effectively" (Real Madrid).
Evidence: AEK had 30% of the ball and nine shots worth 0.78 xG, but five were on target and two went in (FotMob; UEFA's match stats via Bundesliga.com). Madrid had 44 touches in AEK's box, so most of the team was in front of the ball when it was lost (FotMob). FotMob match page · Bundesliga.com: UEFA match stats · Real Madrid: Mourinho's press conference
Recreate it in FM26
Real Madrid · Mourinho's full-backs-high 4-2-3-1 in Athens · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Mourinho's full-backs-high 4-2-3-1 in Athens
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Courtois | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Dumfries | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Militão | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Rüdiger | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Cucurella | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Bernardo Silva | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Camavinga | Defensive Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Diomande | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Bellingham | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Vinícius Jr | Inside Forward | Wide Outlet Winger |
| ST | Mbappé | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking WidthWider
- Crossing StyleLow Crosses
- Shots from DistanceEncouraged
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive LineHigher
- TacklingAggressive
The idea: A 4-2-3-1 that pushes both Wing-Backs high against a deep 4-4-2 and crosses low for an Attacking Midfielder arriving in the box. It needs one midfielder who stays home, or the space behind the full-backs is where you get hit.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce Valverde's added-time shot from distance, or what five rested starters change in a team.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Valverde on at 55' (for Diomande), Brahim Díaz on at 70' (for Vinícius Jr). Keep the shape and the full-backs high, and bring Valverde and Brahim Díaz on earlier. Madrid still win, with less of it left to added time. It moves Real Madrid's win chance from 86% to 87% (xG 3.39–0.78 becomes 3.54–0.78). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Real Madrid needed
Tchouaméni
Both AEK goals came from quick moves while Madrid's full-backs were high. A screening midfielder who stays level with the centre-backs closes the space Koïta and Pilios ran into, and lets Camavinga carry the ball forward.
Declan Rice
Madrid needed one player to do two jobs: stop AEK's breaks when the full-backs had gone, and arrive in the box against a deep block. Rice covers the counter and still gets forward to shoot or cross.
What the analysts said
“In the two critical moments, we knew how to react and show personality.”José Mourinho, post-match press conference (Real Madrid)
“Very well organized, pressing, compact at the back, and with direct play.”José Mourinho, on AEK (Real Madrid)
“They defined well and counterattacked effectively.”José Mourinho, on AEK (Real Madrid)
“At 2-2, I bring on Carlos (Espí) and play with two strikers plus two wide wingers, one on each side.”José Mourinho (Real Madrid)
“If I have to praise someone's work, I would point towards the coach.”José Mourinho, on Marko Nikolić (Real Madrid)
Madrid were behind twice in Athens, and the full-backs and the bench got them out.
What's happening. Madrid won 3–2 in Athens with Valverde's shot in the second minute of added time. AEK led twice, through Koïta and Pilios, and Madrid answered through Bellingham and Mbappé. It is four wins from four in the Champions League and a seventh straight win in all competitions, with five starters rested.
How it works. A side that sits in a 4-4-2 and breaks gives you the ball but not the middle. The way round is the flanks: full-backs high, low crosses across the box for runners. Madrid scored both open-play equalisers that way, from Cucurella and Dumfries. The cost is behind the full-backs. When the ball is lost with both of them up, the space is wide, and AEK's second goal came from their left-back running into it.
What the shots say. FotMob gives Madrid more than four times AEK's xG, their third-best figure of the season. One reading: Madrid made enough to win comfortably, and the bar, a goal-line clearance and Brignoli kept it close. The other: AEK scored twice from nine shots because the chances they made were the clean kind. A sharper side would finish more of those breaks.