Como delivered a stunning away display, scoring nine goals against a helpless Lens side and equalling the record for the most goals by a team in a Champions League match.
The Italian club matched Bayern Munich’s total against Dinamo Zagreb in 2024, as Cesc Fabregas’ side continued their remarkable debut European campaign in France.
After thrashing RB Leipzig and Manchester United on either side of a narrow loss to Feyenoord, Como’s most astonishing result yet moved them up to fourth in the league phase table.
“What they are doing is so impressive, considering this is their first time in Europe,” former Manchester City Nedum Onuoha told BBC Sport.
“In fact, I remember when they first got promoted, and there was so much social media coverage of Fabregas really loving it, and they are fighting for their lives in terms of a relegation dogfight.
“Two seasons later and probably, along with PSG and Barcelona, they are the three most exciting teams in the Champions League.”
Although Italian clubs share the record for the most goals in the Champions League era, Feyenoord own the European Cup benchmark, having defeated Icelandic team KR 12-2 in September 1969.
Even so, Como did record the largest away victory in Champions League history.
They are also just the third team since the competition began to win by an eight-goal margin, joining Liverpool and Real Madrid, who each registered 8-0 home wins over Besiktas and Malmo, respectively.
Como are also the first side to score nine goals in an away European Cup fixture since Feyenoord’s 9-0 triumph at Olympiakos Nicosia in September 1971.
No team has ever scored more than their 19 goals across their first four European matches—only Queen’s Park Rangers, in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup, can equal that impressive total.
Como’s ascent has been extraordinary, given that the club was playing in Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian football, as recently as 2018-19.
A takeover by London-based media company Sent Entertainment, which is owned by Indonesian billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, dramatically altered the club’s direction.
When they finalized a deal in 2019, the Hartono brothers were planning a TV project, with the aim of broadcasting matches featuring young Indonesian players back home.
“Somehow the team got promoted, we had to go professional, and the plan had to be scrapped,” chief executive Mirwan Suwarso told Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored Podcast in October.
Even after the strategy changed, this level of progression and so quickly has still come as a surprise.
“Yes, they have got rich owners, but that alone doesn’t buy you guaranteed success,” ex-Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock told BBC Sport.
“You have got to buy the right players to fit the right system, and Fabregas has gone for young players as well, who are hungry but also can keep progressing and keep improving, like he is as a manager.
“So the team’s development is almost mirroring his development in the way that they are going to progress together. It’s a brilliant story.”
Haaland scores winner as Man City struggle to beat Leipzig 3-2
Gyokeres scores winner as Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 2-1
The rout began in the seventh minute, when Greece forward Tasos Douvikas struck the first of his two goals from close range to give Como control.
Five minutes before half-time, Tenerife-born Nico Paz fired in the third goal and revealed a T-shirt honoring Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, who died after suffering a serious injury in an on-pitch collision.
With Lens already thoroughly beaten, Como showed no mercy, and captain Lucas da Cunha made it four less than two minutes into the second half.
Marc-Oliver Kempf headed in the fifth on 53 minutes, then Argentine Paz set up Douvikas to finish calmly and complete his hat trick.
Substitute Mattia Liberali then broke clear to stab in the seventh after 62 minutes, and with so much time left, the prospect of equalling or even surpassing Bayern’s record looked entirely plausible.
Lens, however, managed to pull one back when Ruben Aguilar struck a sweet volley from a corner.
But Como kept pushing, and Martin Baturina burst through an increasingly disinterested home defense to make it 8-1 with more than 20 minutes still to play.
With time running out, they claimed a ninth goal in stoppage time when 18-year-old Matteo Papaccioli was played through and finished calmly.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but a video assistant referee (VAR) check showed he had timed his run to perfection, sparking yet more celebrations on a scarcely believable and historic night for his side.
