Paz double and Fabregas-guided Como rout Manchester United 4-1 in Champions League
Como defeated Manchester United 4-1 at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on Wednesday in a Champions League fixture, with Nico Paz scoring twice and providing an assist while Cesc Fabregas watched from the dugout.
When Manchester United last savoured a Champions League win in 2008, Como were a Serie D side playing in one of nine semi-professional regional leagues; on Wednesday the Serie A club hosted United at a rainy but picturesque Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on the banks of Lake Como, demonstrating how far the club has progressed since those lower-league days.
Nico Paz, the Tenerife-born Argentina international signed from Real Madrid in 2024, scored twice and set up a third goal; since the start of September the 22-year-old has been directly involved in more goals in all competitions than any other Serie A player, and Wednesday’s performance took him to nine goal involvements in eight appearances — four goals and five assists — making him the youngest Argentine to be involved in three goals in one Champions League game since Lionel Messi against Bayern Munich in April 2009.
The Como side repeatedly broke through Manchester United’s structure during the match as United extended a poor run; United are now winless in their past seven games in all competitions for the first time since 2015. "He's been absolutely brilliant in everything that he has done," said Glenn Hoddle on TNT. "A lot of his play has been creative and risky, but he's pulled it off."
Club staff and executives framed the victory in the context of Como’s recent transformation: "It's Manchester United. We are only just getting our heads around the fact we are playing Inter, Milan and Juventus," said one member of staff. Chief executive Mirwan Surwaso recounted Como’s return to Serie D in 2017 after being unable to convince the authorities of their financial wellbeing and described how a London-based media company, Sent Entertainment, owned by Indonesian billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, concluded a deal in 2019 to develop a TV project showing matches involving young Indonesian players — a plan that did not include a Manchester United visit.
The matchday setting and facilities were highlighted by the club and supporters: Lake Como is 29 miles long and 2.5 miles wide in some parts, Como offer one hour Lake Como tours followed by 'pre-match Lakeside hospitality', and there is an Aero Club for sea-planes that take off at regular intervals behind a stand. The Giuseppe Sinigaglia holds 12,300 and, the report noted, three quarters of the stadium is uncovered and was exposed to heavy rain during the fixture; the town’s population is described as just over 83,000, "which means 90% of them could fit in the San Siro Stadium."
On the sporting side, expectations at the start of the season had been for Como to sell developing talents, but manager Cesc Fabregas guided the squad to fourth place in 2025-26, capitalising on AC Milan's shock defeat at Cagliari; "It meant in the space of five seasons from Fabregas' arrival as a player, Como had gone from Serie B to the Champions League," the report stated. Lionel Messi's son Ciro was pictured earlier this week with his dad wearing a replica Como kit, and former France internationals Raphael Varane and Thierry Henry are both investors in the club. Fabregas reflected on the transformation: "Compared to when I finished my career here, it is completely different," said Fabregas. "It is not even night and day. It is another world. "Playing Manchester United is a historic day once again for the club, the city of Como and fanbase. "When I retired as a player, I coached to get experience. I explained what I thought of the club and my vision and put the plan to work. We are a family here. Even when we lose, fans come and celebrate. We need to be humble and remember who we were because the story of Como will be beautiful, and we will remember it forever." He also said: "We were at minus 10 when we started, but we don't want to spend time thinking about what has passed."
Longstanding supporters described their reactions to Como’s rise and the matchday atmosphere. "I had an uncle who supported Como," said Marco Melillo. "He showed me the sticker collection, I saw the blue shirt and the blue colours and totally went crazy about it. "I know in England a lot of people support teams in lower leagues, but that is not so true in Italy, where people support bigger teams. I do not like that that much. I was not really interested in supporting a team that was winning something. I liked the colours. I liked the stadium and when I came here and saw the lake, it was 'wow'. "We know the club is in the best situation ever in its history but when I see the faces of the guys and ladies that were also here in Serie D, we just see in our eyes and say, 'OK, we hope that this story will go on as long as possible, as best as possible, but if it maybe abruptly ended, because in the past we had also some bad things, we know we will be there'." Federico Borghi added: "In 2008, I had just started to go to the stadium to attend games," he said. "Not even in our best dreams could we think of playing Manchester United. I get chills even thinking about it. "As soon as I entered the stadium for the first time I realised this was going to be my faith. I was there in the bad times and that has strengthened my faith and my relationship with the club. "The Premier League is my inspiration and to face one of the top three or four biggest clubs in the world, it's a big honour."
Questions remain about Como’s ability to meet UEFA financial rules as the club continues its rapid ascent, and Surwaso addressed that scrutiny directly: "The scrutiny is on us but we always have our books in order, so we are not too worried."