Reports say the scoreline is an Italian record in the competition. It also equals the most goals ever scored by one team in a single Champions League match, a mark that Bayern Munich had held alone until now.
Key points at a glance
- Como beat Lens 9-1 away from home. Tasos Douvikas scored a hat-trick.
- Nico Paz and substitute Liberali each scored once and set up two goals.
- Como now have nine points from four games and sit fourth in the league-phase table, according to reports.
- Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City all won, while Fenerbahce beat Liverpool 3-2.
- Manchester United’s 3-2 comeback win over Roma on Tuesday lifted them to 17th place.
Como 9-1 Lens: how the rout unfolded
Como, playing in the Champions League for the first time, went to Lens and controlled the game from the first minute. Douvikas opened the scoring in the seventh minute after a pass from Perrone. A penalty decision was overturned after a video review in the 16th minute, and Lens never recovered from the early blows. Douvikas struck again in the 32nd minute, set up by Valle, and Paz made it 3-0 in the 40th minute with Douvikas providing the pass. Como led 3-0 at half-time.
The second half was even more one-sided. Da Cunha scored in the 47th minute after a pass from Paz, and Marc-Oliver Kempf added the fifth in the 53rd. Douvikas completed his hat-trick in the 57th minute, again set up by Paz, to make it 6-0. Liberali then scored the seventh in the 62nd minute, only four minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Lens did pull one back through Ruben Aguilar in the 65th minute, with Thauvin providing the pass, but Como answered almost at once. Substitute Martin Baturina scored the eighth in the 69th minute. Eighteen-year-old Matteo Papaccioli, making his debut, then completed the scoring in stoppage time (90+1) after a pass from Liberali. Lens received two yellow cards, for Baidoo and Cuisance, as the night slipped away from them.
The stars of the night
- Tasos Douvikas: The striker has now scored in each of Como’s four Champions League games, matching a feat achieved by Italian great Alessandro Del Piero, according to Goal. He took his tally to six goals in four appearances.
- Nico Paz: Named man of the match by Goal, the midfielder scored once and created two goals.
- Liberali: The substitute scored once and set up two more in barely half an hour on the pitch.
- Cesc Fabregas: The Como coach made changes once the game was won, taking off Paz, Da Cunha and Douvikas between the 58th and 61st minutes. Reports say he can now rest key players before Como’s Serie A game against Inter.
Why this result stands out
Como are one of the great stories of European football. The club earned its place in the Champions League by finishing fourth in Serie A last season, and its rise from the lower leagues to the continent’s biggest stage has been described by Italian media as a fairytale. This season, Fabregas’s young side has played attacking football from the start, and Wednesday’s win was the clearest sign yet that they belong among Europe’s elite.
The numbers help explain why. An eight-goal winning margin equals the biggest in Champions League history, a gap previously recorded by Liverpool in 2007 and Real Madrid in 2015, according to 365Scores. Scoring nine goals in one match also puts Como alongside Bayern Munich as the only clubs to reach that figure. For a team playing in the competition for the first time, that is a remarkable achievement.
What the result means for the table
Before kick-off, Como had six points from three games, according to the Sky Sports table. The win lifts them to nine points from four matches. By Daily Talk’s calculation from that table and Wednesday’s score, they have scored 19 goals and conceded six. Reports place Como fourth, behind PSG, Arsenal and Real Madrid, and firmly in the race for a top-eight finish and direct entry to the round of 16.
Como’s only defeat so far came away at Feyenoord. They beat RB Leipzig and Manchester United 4-1 at home, so this heavy win on the road shows the team can score freely wherever it plays. Lens, meanwhile, remain without a point from their last two games and have now conceded nine in a single match. Football fans who enjoy more entertainment and culture stories can also browse the Daily Talk Entertainment section.
Wednesday’s Champions League results
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| AEK Athens | 2-3 | Real Madrid |
| Fenerbahce | 3-2 | Liverpool |
| Borussia Dortmund | 2-1 | Real Betis |
| FC Porto | 4-1 | Napoli |
| Lens | 1-9 | Como |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1-2 | Club Brugge |
| RB Leipzig | 2-3 | Manchester City |
| Slavia Prague | 1-2 | Arsenal |
| Viking | 4-1 | Sabah |
Real Madrid survive a scare in Athens
Real Madrid needed a stoppage-time goal to win 3-2 at AEK Athens. AEK’s Koita gave the hosts the lead in the 12th minute. Jude Bellingham levelled in the 32nd minute, after a goal for the visitors had been ruled out for offside four minutes earlier. Pilo put AEK back in front in the 75th minute, but Kylian Mbappe equalised in the 78th, and Federico Valverde struck the winner in the 92nd minute. Koita was sent off in stoppage time, so AEK finished the game with ten men.
Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool
Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Prague. Noni Madueke scored in the ninth minute and Viktor Gyokeres added a second in the 38th, so the visitors led 2-0 at the break. Nowak pulled one back for Slavia with a goal on the stroke of full-time, but Arsenal held on. Manchester City won 3-2 at RB Leipzig, while Liverpool saw their strong start end with a 3-2 loss at Fenerbahce in Istanbul. Elsewhere, Porto beat a Napoli side that finished with a player sent off, and Viking also won 4-1 against a Sabah team reduced to ten men.
Man United’s comeback against Roma and the updated table
On Tuesday night, Manchester United pulled off one of the most dramatic comebacks of the league phase, beating AS Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford after trailing 2-0. Matias Soule scored in the 11th minute and Donyell Malen added a penalty in the 17th, but a retaken penalty by captain Bruno Fernandes in the 58th minute started the fightback. Matheus Cunha then scored in the 83rd and 86th minutes before being sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card. The win ended a nine-match winless run for United in all competitions and lifted them to 17th in the league-phase table with six points from four games (two wins and two defeats), while Roma fell to 19th on four points. PSG remain top with 12 points from four matches, according to Blueprint.
What happens next
The league phase continues, with the top eight teams earning direct places in the round of 16. Como will want to keep their form against much tougher opposition, and Lens must find answers quickly after two heavy defeats. For Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City, the focus will be on staying near the top of the table. Liverpool will look to bounce back after their first loss of the campaign, while Manchester United will hope that the Roma win is the turning point in a difficult season. Supporters in Nigeria and elsewhere should check the official UEFA website for matchday five dates and kick-off times, since schedules can change. With four rounds played and results this lopsided, the race for the top eight is far from settled.
Sources and editor’s note: Match details are based on published match reports and live-score summaries. See reports by Goal and Football Italia on Como’s win, Blueprint on Tuesday’s results, TNT Sports and Yahoo Sports on Manchester United’s win, and the Sky Sports Champions League table. League positions and goal totals may change as official data is updated.
