Italian side Como produced one of the biggest shocks in the history of European club competitions, demolishing Lens 9:1 away from home in a Champions League match. This achievement is entirely unprecedented – no Italian team had ever previously scored seven or more goals away from home in the competition or its predecessor, the European Cup.
Following this incredible success and the halfway point of the league phase, the “Lariani” occupy an impressive fourth place in the overall standings.
After their strong start to the competition, which included victories over RB Leipzig and Manchester United (both by 4:1) and a defeat to Feyenoord (2:3), hardly anyone expected such an attacking response on French soil.
Tasos Douvikas was the cherry on top, shining with a fantastic hat-trick to score in each of the four matches so far and move to the top of the tournament’s scoring charts. The other goals in the historic rout were scored by Nico Paz, Luca Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Matija Liberali, Martin Baturina and teenage debutant Matteo Papaccioli.
Head coach Cesc Fabregas called for calm and concentration despite the European euphoria and the fact that this was his team’s sixth consecutive victory in all competitions:
“It is a wonderful night for Como, for our supporters and for many of the young players here... However, they must keep their feet firmly on the ground, remain humble, continue learning and not think that everything will simply happen by itself from now on,” Fabregas told “Sky Sport Italia.”
Although he was extremely happy with the result, the Spanish coach did not hide his minor criticisms, admitting that he was slightly annoyed by the goal conceded from a corner taken by his former Monaco teammate Ruben Aguilar.
However, Como have no time for lengthy celebrations, as on Sunday the team face an extremely tough Serie A test against champions Inter – the ninth match in a demanding run before the international break.