Real Madrid Secures Seventh Consecutive Victory Against AEK Athens

Real Madrid travel to face Greek side AEK Athens today, seeking a fourth consecutive victory in the UEFA Champions League, the competition in which they hold the record with 15 titles. Other notable clashes today include English club Liverpool against Turkish side Fenerbahçe, while fellow English teams Manchester City and Arsenal face German side RB Leipzig and Czech club Slavia Prague, respectively. Meanwhile, German club Borussia Dortmund host Spanish side Real Betis.

Portuguese manager José Mourinho’s team has secured six consecutive wins across all competitions, narrowing the gap to just one point behind local rivals Atlético Madrid. Mourinho, whose side defeated Racing Santander 3-0, said: “The team is developing and playing good football. I think we should have scored more goals given the chances we created.”

On the other side, AEK Athens enter the match following a 2-0 defeat to Panathinaikos, the leaders of the Greek league. They currently sit 29th in the overall group standings with three points. The two teams have met four times in European competitions, with each side winning once and the other two matches ending in draws. Real Madrid won the first leg of the 1986 UEFA Cup tie by an aggregate score of 5-1, while the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League group stage matches ended in 3-3 draws in Athens and 2-2 in Madrid.

In the match between Manchester City and host RB Leipzig, Argentine manager Martín Demichelis hopes to prove his credentials as a coach capable of rising to the occasion of major games when he faces his former club. The former defender spent three seasons at City, winning the English Premier League title in 2014 and two League Cup trophies. Demichelis, who also won four Bundesliga titles as a player with Bayern Munich, is aiming for success in Saxony as his managerial career continues to ascend. His coaching journey began in 2021 with Bayern’s reserve team, before stints at Argentina’s River Plate, Mexico’s Monterrey, and Spain’s Mallorca, leading to his appointment at Leipzig this summer.

Leipzig have won only once in six meetings with City, but Demichelis hopes to capitalize on the Italian manager Enzo Maresca’s side, which has lost two of its last three matches, with the third decided by penalties. City are also grappling with the specter of potential sanctions over alleged breaches of financial fair play rules.

In another key fixture, Dortmund seek to exploit home advantage against Betis. Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini, a seasoned coach, consistently delivers impressive results at the highest level, but his failure to win the Champions League has led some to question whether he belongs among the elite managers. The 73-year-old’s team has won all three of their group stage matches so far before traveling to Dortmund’s stadium, which witnessed one of the most painful defeats of his long career.

In 2013, while managing Spanish side Málaga, Pellegrini’s team conceded two late goals against Dortmund, then managed by Jürgen Klopp, losing their chance to reach the Champions League semi-finals. The defeat was particularly harsh on Pellegrini, who had attended his father’s funeral in Chile before flying to Germany on the morning of the match.

Pellegrini, who graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1979 while playing for Universidad de Chile, recently led Betis to their first final in 17 years, winning the Copa del Rey in 2022.