Italian side Como produced one of the most extraordinary performances in UEFA Champions League history on Wednesday, thrashing French club Lens 9-1 away from home, with Anastasios Douvikas scoring a hat-trick and 18-year-old Matteo Papaccioli finding the net on his debut.
Cesc Fabregas’ side overwhelmed Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, scoring nine goals in a remarkable display that Football Italia described as historic, while extending their impressive run of form to six consecutive competitive victories.
Douvikas opened the scoring in the seventh minute, reacting quickest to turn in a cross after Máximo Perrone had knocked down Luis Milla’s delivery from a short corner.
The Greek striker doubled Como’s advantage in the 32nd minute, finishing from close range after Álex Valle volleyed Nico Paz’s delivery back across goal.
Paz added a third five minutes before half-time, firing into the roof of the net from a difficult angle after being set up by Douvikas.
The Argentine midfielder dedicated his goal to Jesús de Miguel, a footballer who died during the week following an on-field accident, by holding up a shirt bearing his image.
Como resumed the second half where they left off, scoring their fourth goal within two minutes of the restart through Lucas Da Cunha, who exchanged passes with Paz before finding the bottom corner.
Marc-Oliver Kempf made it 5-0 in the 53rd minute, heading in Milla’s cross before Douvikas completed his hat-trick four minutes later.
The striker ran on to a pass from Paz, drew goalkeeper Robin Risser out of position and calmly finished to put Como six goals ahead.
The visitors continued their assault, with Mattia Liberali making it 7-0 in the 62nd minute through an angled finish after getting down the right flank.
Lens pulled one back three minutes later when Ruben Aguilar volleyed home from a corner, but Como quickly restored their seven-goal advantage through Martin Baturina, who beat his marker before finishing one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
The rout was completed in stoppage time when Papaccioli, 18, beat the offside trap to score on his first appearance for the senior side. His goal was initially flagged for offside but was confirmed following a VAR review.
According to Football Italia, Como had won their previous European home matches against RB Leipzig and Manchester United by identical 4-1 margins but had lost their only away fixture in the competition against Feyenoord.
The victory over Lens further strengthened their Champions League campaign under Fabregas, who had guided the side to five consecutive competitive victories before Wednesday’s encounter.
Douvikas’ three goals took his tally to four in four Champions League appearances this season, while Paz also played a major role in the emphatic victory, contributing a goal and multiple assists.
