Como produced the heaviest Champions League win by an Italian side on Wednesday, thrashing Lens 9-1 in France, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Anastasios Douvikas scored a hat-trick and Nico Paz, Lucas Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Alessandro Liberali, Martin Baturina and 18-year-old Matteo Papaccioli also found the net. The result, reported by Corriere della Sera and ANSA, is the worst defeat in Lens's history.
Why it matters
No Italian team had previously won a Champions League match by such a margin, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports. The scale of the scoreline also makes it a landmark night for a Como side coached by Fabregas, and a low point for a Lens team whose supporters turned on their own players well before the final whistle.
How the night unfolded
Fabregas named a near-unchanged lineup and did not rest Douvikas despite an upcoming league fixture against Inter, per La Gazzetta dello Sport. The decision paid off inside seven minutes: Milla crossed from a corner, Perrone headed the ball down, and the Greek striker converted from close range.
Lens briefly pushed back. Thauvin delivered a cross that appeared to strike Caqueret's hand, and referee Rohit Saggi awarded a penalty before being called to the pitchside monitor and reversing the decision. After that, the home side struggled to trouble Butez.
At the other end, Risser — described by La Gazzetta dello Sport as Lens's most valuable asset at a reported €30 million valuation — denied Paz twice, first with a save and then with a strong intervention on the Argentine playmaker. He could do nothing about the second goal three minutes later: Da Cunha fed Paz, who released Valle, and the full-back's first-time cross gave Douvikas his second of the evening.
Ivanovic forced Butez into his first save of the match a minute later, but Paz added a third before half-time at the end of a sweeping team move that began in defence and finished with Douvikas turning provider. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Paz marked the goal by revealing a shirt in tribute to Jesus de Miguel, following a minute's silence before kick-off.
The first half ended with Lens supporters whistling their team and holding up banners criticising the club's board over their absence from the recent derby defeat to Lille.
A second half that slipped away
Lens coach Cahuzac made two changes at the interval, bringing on Mesloub and former Roma player Abdulhamid for Ivanovic and Skoras, but the defensive problems remained. Two minutes after the restart, Paz set up Da Cunha for a low left-footed finish and a 4-0 lead.
Kempf headed in Milla's cross for the fifth, and Liberali then played in Douvikas for his third. By that stage, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, sections of the home crowd had begun ironically cheering Como's passing moves. Liberali scored the seventh himself at the near post, before Aguilar pulled one back for Lens with a right-footed volley from a corner.
Da Cunha added an eighth, and Papaccioli completed the scoring. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the teenager's goal was initially flagged for offside before being awarded. The same outlet notes that home fans pointed their players towards the Louvre-Lens museum, built on a former mine, in an apparent reference to the team's performance.
Fabregas made three substitutions with the Inter match in mind, sending on Ricci, Liberali and Baturina for Da Cunha, Paz and Milla.
What to watch
Como return to domestic action against Inter, where Fabregas will hope the confidence from this result carries over. For Lens, the focus turns to how Cahuzac's side responds after the most damaging night in the club's history.
