Lens 1-9 Como: Douvikas hat-trick and a record night
Como beat Lens 9-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, a scoreline that UEFA's round-up described as equalling the biggest win in the competition's history. Tasos Douvikas scored a hat-trick, Nico Paz scored once and created two more, and Matteo Papaccioli finished the scoring in stoppage time.
Como led 3-0 at half-time and added six goals after the break, four of them between the 53rd and 69th minutes. Lens scored once in that spell, through Ruben Aguilar, and the game briefly looked like it might settle at something ordinary. It did not.
How the nine goals arrived
- 7 minutes: Tasos Douvikas, close range after a corner, 0-1.
- 32 minutes: Tasos Douvikas, close range from Alex Valle's pass, 0-2.
- 40 minutes: Nico Paz, left foot from the right side of the box, 0-3.
- 47 minutes: Lucas da Cunha, left foot after Paz's through ball, 0-4.
- 53 minutes: Marc Oliver Kempf, header from Luis Milla's corner, 0-5.
- 57 minutes: Tasos Douvikas, right foot after another Paz through ball, 0-6.
- 62 minutes: Mattia Liberali, left foot from the right side of the box, 0-7.
- 65 minutes: Ruben Aguilar for Lens, close range after a corner, 1-7.
- 69 minutes: Martin Baturina, right foot after Liberali's pass, 1-8.
- 90+1 minutes: Matteo Papaccioli, left foot after Liberali's through ball, 1-9.
The numbers behind the rout
| Stat | Lens | Como |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 42.7% | 57.3% |
| Shots | 11 | 18 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 12 |
| Corners | 5 | 5 |
| Accurate passes | 410 | 591 |
| Saves | 2 | 2 |
| Fouls | 12 | 11 |
Como scored nine goals from 12 shots on target. Lens scored one from three. The possession gap was not enormous, 57.3 percent to 42.7, but the shot quality was: Como put two thirds of their attempts on target and scored with three quarters of those.
Lens had 11 shots and five corners of their own. They scored through Aguilar's close-range finish after a corner, and their three shots on target produced one goal. Their five corners produced one goal, which was the only part of the night that went to plan. The home side were not passive, but the space behind their midfield was where Como did most of the damage.
Douvikas and Paz
Douvikas scored in the 7th, 32nd and 57th minutes, the first two from close range and the third after Paz's through ball. It was the kind of hat-trick that comes from being in the right place repeatedly rather than from three moments of individual brilliance.
Paz was the game's best player. He scored the third, set up the fourth and the sixth, and kept finding the pass that took Lens's midfield out of the move. BBC reported that Paz celebrated one goal with a tribute to Tenerife's Jesus de Miguel, a detail that fits a night when the result was already beyond doubt.
Liberali also had a hand in the last two goals, scoring the seventh and assisting the eighth and ninth. Papaccioli's finish was awarded after a VAR review, which is the only reason the ninth goal needed a second look.
A record night
UEFA's round-up called the result an equal of the biggest win in Champions League history. The margin of eight goals is the measure: Lens conceded nine at home, and no team in the competition's modern format had been beaten by more.
BBC described Como as making Champions League history and compared their excitement to Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. That is a big comparison after one night, but the numbers support it: 19 goals in four league phase games and a goal difference of plus 13.
What the format rewards
The league phase is decided by points first and goal difference second. Como's plus 13 is the best of the clubs on nine points and second only to Paris Saint-Germain's plus 15. That cushion matters because the table is compressed: fourth to twelfth all have nine points. A team that wins its remaining home games can finish in the top eight without help; a team that loses one may need the goal difference it built on a night like this.
Lens are 33rd on three points after four games, with four goals scored and 16 conceded. Their goal difference of minus 12 is the second-worst in the table, and the next game is now about damage control as much as points.
Fabregas and the next step
Cesc Fabregas had said before the match that Como must play their own football and not be scared of the Champions League, according to Football Italia. The performance was an argument in his favour: a side that kept attacking at 7-1 rather than protecting the score.
Como are fourth in the league phase on nine points, with three wins and one defeat. In Serie A they are also fourth after 10 games, with seven wins, two draws and one defeat, 18 goals scored and eight conceded. The league form is not a fluke attached to one European night.
The question now is whether the league phase rewards this approach over eight games. Goal difference is the tie-breaker that separates the clubs on nine points, and Como's plus 13 is the best in that group. Lens are 33rd on three points with a goal difference of minus 12.
Fabregas's side played in Europe without changing their identity, and the nine goals at Lens were the clearest example yet. The risk is that a team built to attack leaves itself open against better opponents; the reward is a goal difference that may be worth a place in the next round.
For now Como have nine points from four games and a place in the top four. The test will come against a side that does not give them the space Lens did, and the answer will say more about the season than a 9-1 win can.
The full league phase table is on our tables page, with the rest of the Italian clubs in our Serie A section and every European result in the Champions League coverage.