1. Opening: My verdict

Wednesday’s four big games had one thing in common: nobody got to relax. Real Madrid trailed twice in Athens and won with a strike in stoppage time. Fenerbahçe came from behind twice to beat a Liverpool side that had won all three of its games. Manchester City bounced back from Saturday’s defeat with a win at Leipzig, and Arsenal were cruising in Prague until a late goal made the closing minutes tense. My verdict is that this was a night when staying in the game mattered more than starting well, and the teams that kept going got their reward. I covered the first half of Matchday 4 in my Tuesday review, so here is Wednesday, one match at a time.

2. The evidence

AEK Athens 2-3 Real Madrid: the comeback that took until the last minute

If you like drama, start here.

AEK took the lead twice. Aboubakary Koita scored in the 12th minute and Stavros Pilios in the 75th. Real Madrid answered both times. Jude Bellingham equalised in the 32nd minute with an elegant backheel after a cross from Marc Cucurella. A few minutes earlier, he had thought he’d scored from a corner. The flag went up for offside and VAR upheld it.

The second equaliser came fast. Kylian Mbappé drew the sides level less than three minutes after Pilios put AEK ahead. He has now scored in all four of Madrid’s Champions League games this season.

Then came the winner, and it was a good one. Federico Valverde scored in the second minute of added time. It was a stunning right-footed effort from outside the box. AEK’s Koita was sent off in the fifth minute of added time.

The numbers show why this didn’t feel lucky. According to Sofascore, Madrid had 70% of the ball and 24 shots to AEK’s nine, and AEK goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli made five saves. The win kept Real Madrid perfect, with 12 points from 12. In my preview, I said Madrid’s habit of conceding would give the hosts hope. It did, and AEK nearly made it count.

Source: ESPN match report

Fenerbahçe 3-2 Liverpool: a perfect start ends in Istanbul

This was the shock of the night, and it came from a team that had not won in the competition this season.

Liverpool started brightly. They had four shots in the first five minutes, the first time they have done that in a Champions League game since March 2009. Trey Nyoni then scored his first senior Liverpool goal, a deflected effort after Virgil van Dijk challenged for a header at the far post. The 19-year-old became Liverpool’s second-youngest Champions League scorer. Mason Greenwood equalised before half-time, so it was 1-1 at the break.

The second half brought two more swings. Alexander Isak headed Liverpool back in front in the 69th minute with his first touch after coming on as a substitute. Then everything changed. Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi flipped the score inside six minutes. Muriqi’s winner was a header from a looping delivery that went unchallenged. It was his first Champions League goal, in his ninth appearance in the competition.

Andoni Iraola didn’t hide from it afterwards. He said the first and third goals were defending problems, that the wall was not set properly for the first, and that Muriqi won his header against three Liverpool defenders.

For Liverpool, the numbers are uncomfortable. Opta says they have conceded 10 goals in four Champions League games this season, three in each of their last three. It is the first time they have ever conceded three or more in three major European games in a row. They also lost their 100% record in the competition. It comes just days after their defeat at home to Arsenal on Sunday. The expected-goals figures were close, 1.70 for Fenerbahçe and 1.57 for Liverpool.

There was a story on the touchline too. Former Liverpool favourite Dirk Kuyt was overseeing Fenerbahçe.

Source: The Analyst (Opta)

RB Leipzig 2-3 Manchester City: a bounce-back, but not an easy one

City arrived after a defeat to Brighton on Saturday, and Leipzig made them work for it.

City led just before half-time through an own goal from Castello Lukeba in the 37th minute, after a cross from Nico O’Reilly. Leipzig hit back after the break. Ridle Baku equalised in the 49th minute, set up by Brajan Gruda, and Enzo Fernández put City back in front in the 58th minute from an Iliman Ndiaye assist. Fernández scored with a brilliant header. Then Leipzig did it again. Antonio Nusa made it 2-2 in the 61st minute from a Christopher Nkunku assist.

The winner came from the man you would expect. Erling Haaland scored in the 78th minute, set up by Elliot Anderson. Sky Sports described it as a stunning pass across the box, with Haaland sliding the ball home.

The finish was frantic. David Raum hit the bar for Leipzig in the 81st minute, and Rayan Cherki hit the crossbar for City in the 84th. Haaland had a goal ruled out for offside in the 86th, and a Gruda finish was ruled out for offside in the 88th. Enzo Maresca finished with three centre-backs on the pitch. I’d say that was the right call.

For a team that lost on Saturday and had to travel to Germany, a win like this matters, even if it wasn’t pretty.

Slavia Prague 1-2 Arsenal: control, then a late scare.

Arsenal came to Prague three days after winning at Anfield, and for the first half, it looked easy.

Nine minutes in, Viktor Gyökeres sent Noni Madueke through on goal, and Madueke finished. Gyökeres then scored his own in the 38th minute, after a fine passing move with Mikel Merino. At 2-0, the visitors were in control.

The second half was a different game. Sky Sports reporter Nick Wright said Slavia were a different team after the break, pressing with intensity and attacking at speed. Late on, they got their reward. Wiktor Nowak scored from a David Jurásek assist to cut Arsenal’s lead to 2-1. It was the first goal Arsenal have ever conceded in the Czech Republic, on their seventh trip to the country. Slavia kept pushing, and David Raya had to save a late effort from Konečný before the final whistle.

The win took Arsenal to 10 points, and up to third in the Champions League table. In my preview, I said Arsenal should control the game but that Prague is a place where focus matters. They controlled the first half. The second showed why I said it.

3. My analysis

Here is how each game was decided. Every minute in the table appears in the reports above.

Match	Result	The decisive moment	Minute
AEK Athens v Real Madrid	2-3	Valverde’s strike from outside the box	90+2
Fenerbahçe v Liverpool	3-2	Muriqi’s header	79
RB Leipzig v Manchester City	2-3	Haaland’s finish from Anderson’s pass	78
Slavia Prague v Arsenal	1-2	Gyökeres’s goal made it 2-0	38

Results and minutes come from the match reports above.

Three of the four games were settled in the last quarter of an hour, and the fourth was held on to under pressure. Three more thoughts stand out to me.

1. Real Madrid keep finding a way. They have won all four games, and Wednesday was another dramatic comeback. A team that doesn’t panic when it trails is dangerous. The 24 shots also tell me it was earned, not lucky.

2. Liverpool’s defending is now the story. Conceding three in three straight European games is a first for the club, and Iraola named the problems himself. Lots of teams can score, but the ones that go far also defend crosses and set pieces.

3. Early control isn’t enough. Arsenal were 2-0 up and still finished under pressure. Leipzig came back twice against City. A lead in this competition is never as safe as it looks, which is why the last ten minutes matter so much.

4. The counterpoint

I could be reading too much into one night. Late drama happens every week, and three out of four is a small sample. Liverpool’s defeat came a few days after another loss, and Fenerbahçe’s win doesn’t prove they are a top team. Arsenal’s late goal didn’t change the result, so I may be making too much of it. Where sources disagreed on small details, such as the exact minute of Nowak’s goal, I have left the minute out. And as with any review, I’m describing what the reports say happened, not what I saw live.

5. Verdict and what to watch

My view: Matchday 4 gave us two great nights. Tuesday was about mistakes, and Wednesday was about who kept going. Real Madrid, Arsenal and City all took three points, while Liverpool and AEK will be thinking about what they could have done differently.

What I’ll watch next:

• This weekend, when the Premier League returns. Arsenal host Hull on Saturday, Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City follows, and Crystal Palace vs Liverpool is on Sunday.
• The next Champions League matchday, on 24 and 25 November. Arsenal host Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City host Napoli and Real Madrid host PSV.

Your turn

• Who was your player of the night? Valverde, Haaland, Muriqi, Gyökeres or Madueke? Tell me why.
• Was Valverde’s strike the goal of the week? Yes or no.
• Can Liverpool fix their defending? Drop your view below.
• Predict Saturday. Give me your score for Arsenal v Hull.

I’ll look back at your predictions in my next review.

6. Related reading

• Cunha’s Wild Night, PSG’s Record Blitz and Karl’s Madrid Moment: Champions League Matchday 4, Tuesday Review
• Nine Games, Two Nights: Can Villa Stay Perfect at Barcelona? Champions League Matchday 4 Preview
• Weekend Football Preview: Chelsea v Man United, Der Klassiker, the Milan Derby, Juventus v Napoli and Liverpool v Arsenal

Brought to you by Matchday Pundit.

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