Como Set Champions League Record With Stunning Nine-Goal Haul

Italian club Como have written a new page in the UEFA Champions League. Cesc Fabregas’ team overwhelmed French club Lens with a huge 9-1 goal flood at their home ground on Wednesday night. This is the joint largest margin of victory in the modern history of the Champions League.

Greek forward Anastasios Douvikas scored a hat-trick for the Italian team, making it Como’s third win in four matches.

Since the new Champions League format began in 1992, only two clubs have won by an eight-goal margin. Liverpool beat Besiktas 8-0 in 2007, and Real Madrid beat Malmö by the same margin in 2015. Bayern Munich also set a record for scoring nine goals in a match when they beat Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in 2024.

According to statistics agency Opta, Como became the first visiting team to score nine goals away from home in European competition since Feyenoord in 1971 at Olympiacos.

Como took the lead in the seventh minute through a goal by Duvikas at the Stade Bolaert-Delelys in Lens. The Greek striker doubled the lead with a brilliant team attack half an hour later. Just before the break in the first half, Argentine youngster Turi Nico Pas’s bullet-speed shot gave Como a 3-0 lead at the break.

Fabregas’ men continued to attack in the second half, with French midfielder Lucas da Cunha scoring the team’s fourth goal from a long pass, before Duvicas completed his hat-trick with a header from Marc-Oliver Kempf.

Mattia Liberali scored the team’s seventh goal with a wonderful run after coming on as a substitute. At this stage of the match, Ruben Aguilar scored a goal for Lens with a wonderful volley.

However, Como’s attack did not stop. Martin Baturina scored the eighth goal in the 69th minute, and Matteo Papacioli’s goal at the end of the match secured a huge 9-1 victory.

“We have a lot to gain from tonight,” Como coach Fabregas said in a post-match response to UEFA’s website. “Every plan we had worked perfectly on the pitch.”

Como made history by finishing fourth in Serie A last season and qualified for the Champions League for the first time. They have already beaten RB Leipzig and Manchester United 4-1 at home this season. The team is fourth in the table with nine points from four matches. PSG and Real Madrid are three points above them.

On the other hand, this is Lens’ third consecutive defeat in the Champions League. At the same time, it is the biggest defeat by a French club in Champions League history.

The team’s coach Yannick Cahuzac expressed his disappointment, saying, “It’s difficult to comment in the moment after such a loss, but the main feeling is that we are extremely humiliated.”