Como had never played a European match in 119 years, and they won the first one 4-1
Como’s first game in any European competition ended 4-1 against RB Leipzig, with two assists for Nico Paz and a lakeside stadium that had to be rebuilt in under 90 days to be allowed to host it.
Sep 11, 2026
Como 1907 have existed since, as the name gives away, 1907. In 119 years they had never played a match in any European competition. They got their first one on Thursday night, at home, against an RB Leipzig side back in the Champions League after a season away. They won it 4-1.
Martin Baturina scored in the 15th minute and then put Anastasios Douvikas in for the second on 38. Assane Diao made it three in the 54th, running onto a Nico Paz pass and drilling it into the far corner. Andrija Maksimovic pulled one back for Leipzig on 58, and that was the last time the Germans looked like getting into it. Maximo Perrone finished the night off in stoppage time, played in by Paz again.
Nico Paz stayed, and this is what he stayed for
Paz had two assists. Real Madrid still hold a buy-back option on him, at a fee that went up sharply this summer, and he decided to spend another season in Lombardy rather than take a move. “It was for nights like this that I wanted to stay,” he said afterwards. “I knew this is where I would grow the most.”
He also spent most of the evening being followed around by a Leipzig midfielder, which is the sort of compliment a 4-1 scoreline never records.
The ground was rebuilt in under 90 days
The Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia sits by Lake Como and was nothing like a Champions League venue in the spring. UEFA granted it Category 4 approval earlier this month after a redevelopment finished in under three months, including a prefabricated concrete stand in place of the old tubular-steel Curva Como. It holds about 11,000 for European matches, which makes it one of the smallest grounds in the competition by a distance.
Tickets went immediately. Club president Mirwan Suwarso and several directors then gave up their own seats so that supporters born in 1950 or earlier could take them, on the reasoning that those were the people who had waited longest.
Fabregas set the tone before kick-off
Cesc Fabregas has been Como’s head coach since 2024, and last season took them to fourth in Serie A on a club-record 71 points, above Milan and Juventus. His job in the buildup was to make a first European tie feel smaller than it was. “It has to be a game like all the others, played with our identity,” he said, adding that he wanted his players walking out believing they could win, “just as we did when I first arrived and we were playing in Serie B.”
Martin Demichelis, in his first season at Leipzig after replacing Ole Werner in June, did not bother softening it. “You have to be honest, Como were much, much better than us,” he said.
Como were the only Italian club to win on the opening matchday. Inter lost 2-1 at Real Madrid, Napoli lost at home to Arsenal, and Roma drew 1-1 at Fenerbahce. Leipzig are eight Champions League campaigns in now, and have started this one by losing to a club that had never played a European match before Thursday.