Como 2-0 Sassuolo: No Paz, No Problem as Douvikas Steps Up

In-form Como beat Sassuolo 2-0 in a match that belonged to Tasos Douvikas, who struck twice.

Taking the field 3 days after a stunning 4-1 Champions League win over Manchester United, Cesc Fabregas's side secured a second consecutive victory in Serie A.

Nico Paz, the star of the Manchester United game, spent the entire match at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on the bench, yet Fabregas's team did not miss their standout player. Leaving the pitch with all 3 points thanks to an influential display from Douvikas, Como closed the gap to leaders Inter, having played a game more.

Como had an early goal ruled out when Lucas Da Cunha was caught offside. Douvikas then saw a deflected effort crash against the post. At the other end, Sassuolo's celebrations were also cut short when the offside flag went up on Kieron Bowie's pass to Darryl Bakola.

Fabregas began the second half by bringing on Jayden Addai, Luis Milla and Jacobo Ramon, and his changes quickly paid off. In the 49th minute, Douvikas made the most of Maxence Caqueret's pass to put his side 1-0 up. The Greek forward then converted Kaiki's cross in the 60th minute to make it 2-0 and hand Como another win.

Douvikas Back in the Spotlight at Home

Fabregas's decision to leave Paz on the bench in the second half as well raised eyebrows, but the Spanish coach proved that the quality on the pitch was enough to win. Douvikas has now scored in 4 consecutive matches across all competitions, the first time in his career he has managed such a run in Europe's top five leagues.

The striker, whose previous 6 Serie A goals had all come away from home, celebrated a goal on home soil for the first time since last March. Douvikas also became the second player to reach 20 Serie A goals for Como (21) and the first foreign player in the club's history to do so (Vittorio Ghiandi tops the list with 32 goals).

With 17 points after 8 matchdays, Como have set a club record for their best-ever start to a Serie A season. Having scored 14 goals over that stretch, the Italian side also matched their record from the 1950-51 season for goals after 8 matches.