Champions League: Valverde’s 92nd-minute strike wins it for Real Madrid; Liverpool fall 3-2 at Fenerbahce
Real Madrid mounted a late comeback to beat AEK Athens 3-2 at the Allwyn Arena in Greece in the Champions League on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Federico Valverde sealing the win with a long-range strike in the 92nd minute. On the same night Fenerbahce defeated Liverpool 3-2, Vedat Muriqi scoring the 89th-minute winner after the Merseysiders twice surrendered leads.
The evening produced several high-scoring and dramatic results across Europe, including Manchester City's 3-2 victory over RB Leipzig after twice losing the lead, Como’s 9-1 rout of Lens, and Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Slavia Prague. Real Madrid joined defending champion Paris Saint-Germain as the only teams with 100% records after four games in this season’s competition. The matches included last-gasp finishes and notable individual performances that reshaped several group standings.
Against AEK, Aboubakary Koita put the hosts ahead in the first half before Jude Bellingham equalised with a back-heel. Stavros Pilios restored AEK’s lead in the 75th minute and Kylian Mbappé levelled for Madrid three minutes later, Mbappé then hitting the bar before Federico Valverde's long-range strike in the 92nd minute produced the decisive third goal.
Madrid coach Mourinho reflected on the result to Movistar, saying: "Of course, I prefer to win more comfortably, but these games in the final minutes — only we can win them," and added, "The players have courage. I'm very lucky to have players of this quality. Very lucky." Madrid had required a late rally to beat Roma last month — scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes, including a 90th-minute winner from Antonio Rudiger.
Liverpool twice took the lead through Trey Nyoni and Alexander Isak but were pegged back by Mason Greenwood and Archie Brown, with Vedat Muriqi heading Fenerbahce’s winner in the 89th. Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola said: "The main reason I can find for why we lost this game is we conceded from three set pieces. We knew it was one of the strengths of Fenerbahce. We concede from a free-kick, a corner and even from the long throw at the end. It's frustration because it's a difficult place to come here and play." The result was Fenerbahce interim coach Dirk Kuyt’s first win in the Champions League since 2008 and handed Liverpool their first defeat in this season’s competition, their second straight loss in all competitions after the weekend defeat to Arsenal.
Erling Haaland provided the winner in the 78th as Manchester City edged RB Leipzig 3-2 at the Red Bull Arena, having been pushed hard after twice losing the lead. City initially went ahead via an own goal from Castello Lukeba, Ridle Baku levelled four minutes into the second half, Enzo Fernandez headed City back in front and Antonio Nusa equalised before Haaland, who "has scored 13 goals against the German club from his time at Borussia Dortmund and City," slid in to turn home Elliot Anderson's cross and register his 14th goal of the season; Haaland "scored five goals in City's 7-0 rout of Leipzig in 2023," the report noted.
Arsenal secured a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague through first-half goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres despite conceding in the 90th minute. Cesc Fabregas' Como routed Lens 9-1, Tasos Douvikas scored a hat trick and has now found the net in all four of Como's matches, while Nico Paz scored and then removed his celebration to grab a T-shirt featuring an image of Jesús de Miguel; Paz spent time in Tenerife's youth system from 2014-16.
Porto beat Napoli 4-1, Gabriel Veiga, Jakub Kiwior and Samu Aghehowa scoring in the second half after Scott McTominay had briefly equalised; the result left Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri described as in crisis following the loss and after a 2-0 defeat at Juventus on Sunday. Porto, meanwhile, continue to lead the Portuguese league with a perfect 10 wins in 10 matches despite having lost their opening three matches in this Champions League campaign. Konstantinos Karetsas scored his first goal for Borussia Dortmund in a 2-1 win over Real Betis — entering for the injured Serhou Guirassy with 10 minutes of the first half remaining, his 72nd-minute strike following Fábio Silva's opener and Aitor Ruibal's equaliser that had come in the 67th minute. Carlos Forbs scored for the second straight Champions League game as Club Brugge won 2-1 at PSV, Norwegian side Viking earned its first victory in the Champions League proper with a 4-1 win over Azerbaijani club Sabah, and in the Europa League Rennes drew 0-0 with Olympiakos.
After four group matches, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid remain the only sides with perfect records in this season's Champions League; Madrid sit second in their group behind PSG on goal difference.
