Como’s remarkable first UEFA Champions League campaign reached a new peak on Wednesday 4 November when Cesc Fàbregas’s side overwhelmed Lens 9-1 in France. Anastasios Douvikas scored a hat-trick as the Italian club equalled the competition’s largest winning margin and recorded an extraordinary result away from home.
The result is no longer a developing score: UEFA’s match records and independent reports confirm the final outcome. It was Como’s third win in four league-phase fixtures, leaving them on nine points after four matches. The scale of the victory, rather than simply the three points, is what makes this result a landmark.
How Como took control
Como were ahead after just seven minutes through Douvikas, who added his second in the 32nd minute. Nico Paz struck before the interval, sending the visitors into half-time with a commanding 3-0 advantage. Lens faced a formidable recovery task against a side that had already demonstrated its attacking potential in Europe.
The second half brought no respite. Lucas da Cunha and Marc-Oliver Kempf extended the lead before Douvikas completed his hat-trick in the 57th minute. Mattia Liberali added another, and although Ruben Aguilar pulled one back for Lens in the 65th minute, Martin Baturina and Matteo Papaccioli completed the scoring. The final goal came in stoppage time, making it nine for the visitors.
What record did Como equal?
The eight-goal margin matched Liverpool’s 8-0 victory over Beşiktaş in 2007 and Real Madrid’s 8-0 defeat of Malmö in 2015. Both of those previous eight-goal wins were achieved at home. Como’s success at Lens therefore stands out as an exceptional away performance in the modern Champions League.
It is important to distinguish a record winning margin from the highest number of goals scored by one team. Bayern Munich previously scored nine in a 9-2 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in 2024. Como became only the second club to reach nine in a Champions League match, but their eight-goal winning margin equalled the existing benchmark.
UEFA’s historical review, published on 5 November, explicitly places Como alongside those landmark victories. The record is an achievement already established, not a prediction about what the team might accomplish later in the competition.
Douvikas and the wider attacking display
Douvikas will understandably attract attention for his three goals, but the scale of Como’s performance was collective. Several different players scored, and the team repeatedly found ways through the Lens defence. Opta’s analysis highlighted that Como converted nine goals from 18 shots, 12 of which were on target, an illustration of their exceptional finishing on the night.
Fàbregas’s side have now scored 19 goals in their opening four Champions League league-phase matches. That figure is especially striking for a club making its debut in this competition. Earlier results included emphatic 4-1 victories against RB Leipzig and Manchester United, but neither carried the historical weight of the night in France.
None of this guarantees a deep run in the knockout rounds. A four-match sample can demonstrate attacking quality without determining how Como will perform against every opponent, particularly as the league phase continues.
What the result means for Lens
For Lens, the defeat is a significant setback in both results and confidence. Their only goal, scored by Aguilar, arrived after the visitors had already established a seven-goal lead. Conceding nine at home leaves the French club with difficult questions about defensive organisation and their response to sustained pressure.
The outcome also illustrates why Champions League scorelines require careful context. A historic defeat is not automatically evidence of a team’s overall season being beyond recovery, just as a record win cannot by itself settle a qualification race. Both sides still have league-phase fixtures to play.
What happens next?
UEFA’s published fixture list shows Como scheduled to host AEK Athens on 24 November, while Lens are due to visit Leipzig on the same date. These are future fixtures, not completed results, and any subsequent changes should be checked against UEFA’s official schedule.
For Como, the immediate challenge is to turn a spectacular one-off result into consistent European performances. For Lens, the priority will be to regroup. The verified achievement remains clear: Como’s 9-1 away win on 4 November equalled the largest victory margin of the Champions League era and provided one of the competition’s most memorable debut-season stories.
Sources and verification
Sources: UEFA record review (5 November 2026); Reuters match report (4 November 2026); Opta Analyst (5 November 2026); UEFA fixtures and results.