Como continued their remarkable rise in European football with a stunning 9-1 demolition of RC Lens in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, producing one of the competition’s most emphatic victories.
The Italian side delivered a sensational attacking display at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, scoring nine goals against their French hosts to underline their growing ambitions in their debut Champions League campaign.
The emphatic victory takes Como’s European adventure to another level, with Cesc Fabregas’ men continuing to surprise established clubs following their impressive performances in the competition.
The visitors made an explosive start, with Greek striker Anastasios Douvikas opening the scoring in the seventh minute before doubling Como’s advantage in the 32nd minute.
Argentine midfielder Nico Paz added a third goal in the 40th minute, giving Como a commanding 3-0 lead at the interval.
Como showed no signs of slowing down after the restart, continuing to punish Lens with wave after wave of attacking football.
Lucas Da Cunha made it 4-0 before Marc-Oliver Kempf extended the advantage to five. Douvikas then completed his hat-trick to make it 6-0, further strengthening his position among the competition’s leading scorers.
The Italian side continued their goal spree, with substitute Mattia Liberali making it 7-0 before Martin Baturina struck the eighth.
Lens managed to find a consolation goal to make it 8-1, but teenager Matteo Papaccioli had the final say, scoring Como’s ninth goal to complete an extraordinary 9-1 victory.
The result was particularly significant for Como, who have quickly established themselves as an exciting attacking side despite being newcomers to Europe’s biggest club competition.
Fabregas’ men will take enormous confidence from the performance as they continue their Champions League campaign, while Lens will be left reflecting on a difficult night in front of their home supporters.
