Como Champions League Rout Ties Record With 9-1 Win

The Como Champions League story of the week is a scoreline that sounds like a typo: Como thrashed Lens nine goals to one away from home on Wednesday night, matching the record for most goals in a single match in the competition, according to Sports Mole. For a club that was in Italy's lower divisions not long ago, it is a wild flex on Europe's biggest stage.

A nine-goal night in northern France

Anastasios Douvikas opened the scoring after seven minutes, and the floodgates never really closed. He added a second before the break and completed his hat-trick just before the hour mark. Nico Paz, Lucas De Cunha, Marc Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali and Martin Baturina all got on the scoresheet as well, pushing the visitors to eight goals with minutes left.

Ruben Aguilar grabbed a consolation for Lens, but the real headline came late. Eighteen-year-old Matteo Papaccioli, playing his senior debut, scored the ninth goal. Imagine making your first-ever pro appearance and ending up in the record books, because that is exactly what happened here.

What it means for the table

The result lifts Como to nine points from their first three Champions League games, according to Sports Mole, which leaves the Italian side fourth in the standings. Lens, meanwhile, slid down to thirty-third and now sit outside the qualifying places. In a league-phase format where goal difference can decide who goes straight to the knockouts, a margin like this is a huge weapon.

The Guardian described the evening as a night where Manchester City edged out Leipzig in a ding-dong contest while Como ran riot at Lens with a historic victory, according to its live coverage. That tells you how crowded the night was, and yet the Como result still stole the spotlight.

The rest of a chaotic matchday

It was not just Como. Real Madrid beat AEK Athens three goals to two after Federico Valverde smashed in a stoppage-time winner, completing a comeback after they twice trailed. Madrid have now won four from four, and Sports Mole notes that five of their match-winning goals this season have come in the final five minutes.

Liverpool had a rougher night. They lost three-two at Fenerbahce, their first defeat of the league phase, with substitute Vedat Muriqi heading the winner in the seventy-ninth minute. Dirk Kuyt, a former Liverpool favourite, was the interim manager on the other touchline, which added extra spice for fans watching at home.

Elsewhere, Manchester City beat Leipzig three-two thanks to an Erling Haaland winner, Arsenal won two-one at Slavia Prague, and Porto hammered Napoli four-one for their first win of the campaign. Viking also picked up the first Champions League victory in their history, beating Sabah four-one.

Why the Como Champions League run matters

Zoom out and the Como Champions League story is about more than one wild scoreline. Nine points from three games shows a club punching way above its history, and results like this give a team confidence and a goal-difference cushion that could matter in January. Any side that can score nine on the road is going to make bigger clubs nervous.

Fans on social media were quick to point out how rare this is. Matching a record that has stood in Europe's top club competition is the kind of thing people screenshot and send to group chats instantly, and it will be replayed in highlight reels for years. For more football coverage, check out our sports section.

What to watch next

The next matchday is scheduled for late November, and every club will be watching the table closely. Como will want to prove this was not a one-night fluke, while Lens face a tough job to climb back into the qualifying places. Liverpool have to bounce back from their first loss, and Real Madrid will try to keep their perfect run going.

For now, though, the night belongs to Como, a teenage debutant and a hat-trick hero named Douvikas. Football keeps reminding us that anything can happen, and sometimes it happens nine times in ninety minutes. If this is what the league phase looks like in early November, the winter stretch could get properly unhinged. Catch up on more headlines while you wait for the next round.