Real Madrid have done it again. The team that refuses to stay down rose from the dead once more, with a stoppage-time goal from Federico Valverde securing victory in Athens. But once the champagne has been drained, there will be time for reflection. Being joint top with a perfect record is worth celebrating, but the danger of another relapse remains high. Vinicius Jr., once the star of the show, now looks like an outsider; Bernardo Silva and Eduardo Camavinga failed to click, and Thibaut Courtois had to make more saves than anyone would have liked.

Even so, José Mourinho’s side were better than AEK Athens, although it took them a while to show it. What will live long in the memory are Valverde’s late thunderbolt and a remarkable backheel goal from Jude Bellingham that deserved a better game.

Partly through necessity (because of the absentees) and partly through conviction (because of recent successes), Mourinho fielded one of the most attack-minded lineups of either of his spells in charge. Two midfielders with little inclination to hold their positions, Camavinga and Bernardo Silva, sat behind a four-pronged attack of Diomande, Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius.

It was a clear statement of optimism and an invitation to compensate for the apparent imbalance with a generous helping of collective effort. This time, there was less of that than required.

The tactical gamble came with three defensive changes from the game in Santander, including the return of Éder Militão, whose only playing time in the past six months amounted to one half against Alavés and five minutes against Sevilla. Mourinho evidently decided this was a good opportunity to see whether what he had observed from the Brazilian in training would translate to a competitive game.

At the other end, Serbian coach Marko Nikolić responded by squeezing his team into a more compact shape, leaving out his most intelligent holding midfielder, Romanian Răzvan Marin, and his leading scorer, Hungarian Barnabás Varga (nine goals), to make room for something resembling a three-man defensive midfield.

It was an extra layer of concrete, built on the assumption that AEK would surrender possession but not space. There were two lines of protection: the formation itself and the home crowd, whose influence in Greece is worth twice as much. AEK know that better than most. In five home games across the domestic league and Champions League this season, they had not conceded a single goal and had scored 18.

A poor start from Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s opening, however, had more in common with their collapse in Rome than their disciplined display in El Clásico. AEK took the ball away from them, won every challenge, comfortably bypassed Madrid’s halfhearted press and eventually took the lead.

The first warning came from Mijat Gaćinović, whose shot after cutting inside was kept out by Courtois’s legs. Then came a magnificent goal from Aboubakary Koita, who switched the ball from his right foot to his left in a flash before unleashing a fierce shot inside the Belgian goalkeeper’s near post.

It was a reminder to Madrid that this was the Champions League, a land of lions, a competition for grown-ups.

Mourinho’s team were painfully easy to read in attack and equally easy to play through in defense. Up front, they missed Arda Güler, the player who makes their football easier to digest. In midfield, Camavinga was incapable of holding the team together and was guilty of the occasional reckless intervention.

At the back, Madrid lost virtually every individual battle and could do nothing to contain Gaćinović, one of those attacking midfielders whose movement allows him to slip beneath every radar. He was everywhere without ever seeming to be detected.

In short, Madrid were lost in that maze of passions, overwhelmed by the team ranked 68th in UEFA’s standings.

Before Mourinho’s players began to wake up, Courtois prevented an even greater disaster by anticipating a powerful close-range effort from Luka Jović, the striker who never became a goalscorer at the Bernabéu and is remembered for his reptilian cold-bloodedness.

Madrid’s first sign of life was a disallowed goal from Bellingham, who, from an offside position, diverted a wayward Vinicius shot into the net. That, along with a handful of corners that went absolutely nowhere, was all Madrid had to show for their efforts until Bellingham produced a spectacular equalizer.

Marc Cucurella sent a low cross in from the left, and the Englishman, standing near the penalty spot, applied a clever left-footed backheel that found the net.

Record it. Preserve it. Put it in the trophy room, if possible, because it might be a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

That is the thing about Real Madrid: what their football cannot provide, their players somehow can.

The goal marked the beginning of a different game. Madrid started to believe they were the better side, while AEK appeared to be running on fumes, having burned through almost all their energy in the opening half-hour. They still had enough left to reach halftime on level terms.

Los Blancos with a strong finish

From that point on, Madrid began to take the game seriously. Led by Bernardo Silva, who discovered long ago that he enjoys taking the wheel, they gradually pushed AEK deeper and deeper, although clear chances were slow to materialize.

Militão got things started with an ambitious long-range shot that never looked particularly promising. Cucurella followed, finding himself in an excellent position thanks to Mbappé, only to see his effort strike Lazar Rota. The Frenchman then tried his luck twice, also without success.

Sensing the danger, Nikolić reversed his earlier decision and introduced Marin and Varga, both normally automatic starters.

Mourinho responded with Valverde, a useful addition now that the game had become an end-to-end contest, exactly the sort he thrives in, and Endrick, a player who knows how to capitalize on chaos.

By then, Madrid were giving the worrying impression of being a team split in two, with too many attackers neglecting their defensive responsibilities.

They paid the price. A driving run down the left by Keita ended with a pass to fullback Pilos, who surged forward and beat Courtois at his near post.

But even that was not enough to finish off a Madrid side with seven lives. They equalized almost immediately, Denzel Dumfries delivering a cross that Mbappé turned home from point-blank range.

Mourinho then activated his emergency plan, bringing on Carlos Espí, the architect of several previous resurrections.

This time, though, the comeback would not bear his name.

It was a missile from Valverde, another of Madrid’s last resorts, that rescued them from trouble.

Miracles as routine. The coffin as a springboard.

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