Como win 9-1 at Lens, the biggest away win in Champions League history

Como beat Lens 9-1 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Wednesday, the biggest away win in Champions League history, and moved up to fourth in the league phase. Their nine goals equal the most scored by one team in a Champions League game, a mark Bayern Munich set against Dinamo Zagreb in 2024.

How it unfolded

Greece forward Anastasios Douvikas opened the scoring from close range after seven minutes. On 16 minutes the referee awarded Lens a penalty for a handball by Como's Maxence Caqueret, but VAR reversed the decision. Douvikas doubled the lead on 32, then led the counter-attack that ended with Como's Nico Paz scoring on 40 for 3-0 at half-time. Paz, who was born in Tenerife, showed a T-shirt after scoring in tribute to Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel, who died after a serious on-pitch collision.

Two minutes after the restart, Paz teed up Como captain Lucas Da Cunha for the fourth. Como's Marc-Oliver Kempf headed the fifth on 53 minutes, and Douvikas completed his hat-trick on 57 from another Paz pass. Como substitute Mattia Liberali ran clear to make it 7-0 on 62, Lens wing-back Ruben Aguilar volleyed in from a corner on 65, and fellow substitute Martin Baturina made it 8-1 on 69. In stoppage time 18-year-old Matteo Papaccioli scored on his Como debut, his goal first ruled out for offside and then given after a VAR check. Como scored nine times from 18 shots, which beIN Sports valued at 4.27 expected goals.

Records everywhere

The eight-goal margin equals the biggest in Champions League history, set by Liverpool's 8-0 home win against Besiktas in 2007 and Real Madrid's 8-0 against Malmo in 2015. Feyenoord's 9-0 at Olympiakos Nicosia in September 1971 was the last time a side scored nine away in the European Cup, BBC Sport said. Como's 19 goals in four games beat the previous Champions League record, Juventus's 14 in 1995-96, by five, beIN Sports said, and equal the most by any club in its first four major European matches, set by Queens Park Rangers in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup. Eleven different Como players scored or assisted, a Champions League first; Benfica's 10 against Maccabi Haifa in November 2022 was the old best.

Reaction

Como coach Cesc Fabregas was angry about the goal his side conceded: "I am angry over the goal we conceded, as we changed something in our defending with the three substitutions." He also urged his young players to "keep their feet on the ground, be humble, keep learning", Goal reported. Lens coach Yannick Cahuzac told Canal+ that the only word that came to mind was humiliation and that he still felt able to turn things around, according to Sports.fr. Lens midfielder Michael Cuisance said: "It's not a defeat, it's a lesson."

What it changes

Como are fourth with nine points and a goal difference of +13, behind PSG (12 points, +15), Real Madrid (12) and Arsenal (10); their 19 goals are second only to PSG's 20. Nine sides, from Como down to 12th-placed Dortmund, are level on nine points. The cut-off for the top eight, who go straight to the last 16, falls between Liverpool and Club Brugge, level on goal difference (+4) and split by goals scored, 14 to 11.

For Lens it is the heaviest defeat by a French club in the competition, Sports.fr said, worse than Brest's 7-0 defeat against PSG in the play-off round, according to Horizon Actu. Lens are 33rd with three points and a goal difference of -12, having scored four and conceded 16, one point behind 24th-placed PSV, the last play-off place. It is their third defeat in a row in the league phase, after 2-0 against Sporting and 3-0 at Club Brugge. Both clubs return to domestic action on Sunday: Lens host Marseille in Ligue 1 and Como visit Inter in Serie A.