Match report
21 October 2026
Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como
- Attendance
- 10,601
- Referee
- Sven Jablonski
Booking minutes follow Sky Sports’ event record. Como’s report lists Kempf at 82 minutes and omits Lacey’s booking.
Starting lineups
Como 1907
Butez · Couto · Ramón · Kempf · Valle · Milla · Perrone · Da Cunha · Paz · Baturina · Douvikas
Head coach: Cesc Fàbregas
Used substitutes
Caqueret · Dossena · Kaiki · Ricci · Smolčić
Manchester United
Lammens · Dalot · Maguire · De Ligt · Mazraoui · Santos · Tielemans · Cunha · Fernandes · Mount · Mbeumo
Head coach: Michael Carrick
Used substitutes
Zirkzee · Diallo · Baleba · Lacey · Amass
What happened
Como 4, Manchester United 1. Nico Paz scored twice, made another and gave us a European night worth keeping. Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón joined him on the scoresheet. The famous visitors spent much of the evening trying to catch up with the football in front of them.
The lovely part is how Como earned it. A quick lead can tempt a team to retreat and hope. Como kept asking for the ball, kept finding the next runner and came out after halftime ready to do more damage.
The second goal is the one to watch again
Paz had already curled in the opener after two minutes. At 1–0, though, there was still a game to finish: Douvikas put a first-half chance over, and United could go into the break knowing one good moment would wipe out the lead.
Four minutes after the restart, the pieces fitted. The move ran through Da Cunha and Baturina to Paz, who released Douvikas beyond De Ligt. This time the finish was there.
That is why the striker’s movement matters as much as the pass. Staying alongside a defender makes you easy to keep in view. Going beyond him forces a decision: follow the run or step toward the player with the ball. Paz and Douvikas made United deal with both at once.
We asked in the preview whether Como could get enough support around their center-forward. That goal gives us a much better answer than a formation graphic. The supporting players connected the move; Douvikas gave it somewhere to go.
Paz did the dirty work, too
His second goal, in the 57th minute, came after he caught Baleba in possession and drove toward goal. Two different ways to hurt a defense: find the runner for one goal, win the ball and become the runner for the next.
It is easy to talk only about the left foot. The work before the finish deserves its share of the applause. Taking the ball off an opponent turns a defensive task into a chance before the opposition can get organized. That is a useful standard for the rest of the side, too.
The Como view
Kaiki’s cross found Ramón for the fourth in the 76th minute. A center-back arriving to finish an attack at 3–0 is a rather good picture of Como’s appetite. The lead had not persuaded them to stop looking for the next opening.
United were poor, and their defending gave Como opportunities. We can acknowledge that without handing them ownership of the whole story. Someone still had to spot the runs, make the passes and finish. Como did.
There are details to keep honest. Dalot had an early chance before the opener, and Zirkzee took away the clean sheet in stoppage time. Neither undoes the performance. Both belong in the account of it. The aim is to enjoy the win without pretending every minute was perfect.
Next comes Sassuolo
Como now have six points from three Champions League games. Sassuolo visit the Sinigaglia on Saturday, October 24, at 15:00 Como time — 14:00 in Dublin and London.
The repeatable part of this win is the movement around the ball: giving the passer options, running beyond the defense and reacting when possession can be won. Bring that to Saturday. The 4–1 can look after itself in the memory.