Federico Valverde lashed home a stunning effort from distance to snatch Real Madrid a late 3-2 victory at AEK Athens on Wednesday in the Champions League and preserve their 100 percent start.

Jose Mourinho's side twice came from behind against the Greek champions before Valverde claimed all three points for his side, level with holders Paris Saint-Germain on four wins from four league phase games.

Aboubakary Koita sent AEK ahead after 12 minutes and Jude Bellingham equalised with a sublime flick for the record 15-time winners.

Stavros Pilios sent the Greek champions ahead with 15 minutes to go but Kylian Mbappe swiftly pulled Madrid level once again, setting the stage for Valverde's late winner.

Madrid have now won seven straight games across all competitions.

Meanwhile, Erling Haaland's 78th-minute strike helped Manchester City shake off a mini-slump with a 3-2 win at RB Leipzig.

After an excellent start to the season, City had lost two Premier League games in a row either side of beating Brighton on penalties in the League Cup.

The visitors twice went ahead through a Castello Lukeba own goal and an Enzo Fernandez header, only to be pegged back by goals from Ridle Baku and Antonio Nusa.

Despite having scored more against Leipzig than any other opponents in his career, Haaland had few chances but was right on the spot to turn in an Elliot Anderson cross for the winner.

"For me I think it's easy. It's around 100 minutes a game to just stay fully focused," Haaland told reporters.

"In this period it was about trying to wait for the right moment and attack it in the right way and put it in the back of the net and that's exactly what I did."

Haaland has now scored 13 times in nine matches against Leipzig, including a memorable five-goal performance in a 7-0 rout in March 2023.

Despite the victory, City were well below their usual best against a Leipzig side in a rebuilding process under new coach Martin Demichelis.

City coach Enzo Maresca, who arrived in the summer, conceded his side were still a "work in progress" but praised Haaland.

"It's important that he's on his game. We know that at any moment he can help us, he can score goals," Maresca said.

Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres scored in the first half to hand Arsenal a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague.

Arsenal got back to winning ways in Europe after a 2-2 draw at Bayern last month, reaching 10 points from four Champions League games so far, while Slavia have a single point in the standings.

Liverpool's perfect record in this season's Champions League ended in a 3-2 loss to Fenerbahce in Turkiye, while Como hit nine away to Lens in an incredible performance as they equalled the biggest winning margin in the competition's history (AFP).


Edited by Robert Kemp