Como make history with 9-1 victory at Lens

Champions League debutants Como 1907 secured a historic victory on Wednesday evening. The Italian side won 9-1 away at Lens and broke several records in the process: no away team had ever scored so many goals in a single match in the competition's history, no Italian side had ever won by eight goals, and no team had ever left the pitch with such a lopsided scoreline since the Champions League format was restructured in 1992. While Cesc Fàbregas's side drew widespread praise in Italy, the result caused astonishment in France.

The previous record for the biggest winning margin in Champions League history was shared by Liverpool (against Beşiktaş in 2007) and Real Madrid (against Malmö in 2015), both with 8-0 scorelines. Como's nine goals also equalled the record for the most goals scored by a team in a single match, set by Bayern Munich when they beat Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in September 2024. However, the contest at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis fell short of becoming the highest-scoring match in the competition's history. That record belongs to the 8-4 meeting between Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw in 2016, in which a total of 12 goals were scored.

Como, who have also beaten Leipzig and Manchester United by 4-1 scorelines this season, climbed as high as fourth place in the standings with this win. Speaking after the match, Como head coach Cesc Fàbregas said he was extremely pleased but also warned against complacency: "It was a lucky evening; everything went our way today." Stressing that his team must keep their feet on the ground despite the historic achievement, the Spanish head coach asked his players to keep working hard and not to think of themselves as special. Annoyed at conceding a goal despite the 9-1 scoreline, Fàbregas laughingly remarked that he had never before seen his former teammate Ruben Aguilar, who scored it, score a goal like that.

Fàbregas also kept expectations in check in his interview with Sky Sport Italia: "It is also our fourth ever Champions League game, so four is the key number here." Como's last two league-phase games, in the final two weeks of January, are against Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. "Nothing is impossible, but these are two teams who are superior to the rest," the Spanish coach said. Before then, Como travel to San Siro to face Inter in Serie A on Sunday, and Fàbregas said his focus was on getting injured players back, with the squad missing many, especially in attack.

Lens head coach Yannick Cahuzac, who replaced Dino Toppmöller in mid-September, was deeply dejected. Giving a blunt assessment after the match, Cahuzac said: "The only word that comes to mind is 'humiliation'", admitting that his team had been inferior to their opponents in every area. Noting that such a heavy defeat could not be explained by tactical indiscipline alone, the French head coach called for a ruthless assessment of the situation and demanded a strong reaction in Sunday's league match against Olympique Marseille.