Como made European football history on Wednesday as they defeated Lens 9-1, becoming the first Italian club to score nine goals in a single European competition match.
The result, achieved under manager Cesc Fabregas, was also the biggest away win ever recorded in the Champions League. Como’s victory rewrote several competition and Italian football records in one night.
According to Opta, Como are the first Italian side to score at least seven goals in an away Champions League fixture. They are also the first Italian team to score nine times in one match in any European competition.
No side from any country had scored nine goals away from home in the Champions League since 1971. Only Bayern Munich had previously reached nine goals in a single match in the competition.
Como’s total also surpassed the previous record for goals scored by a team in an away Champions League game. That mark had belonged to Leo Messi’s Barcelona, who scored eight in their famous 8-2 victory against Bayern Munich in 2020.
The nine-goal margin established another new benchmark. Before Wednesday, the biggest away victories in the Champions League had been by seven goals.
That record was shared by Marseille, who beat Zilina 7-0 in 2010, Shakhtar Donetsk, who won 7-0 away to BATE in 2014, and Liverpool, who recorded a 7-0 victory at Maribor in 2017.
The result was also significant in the wider history of Italian clubs in European competition.
Before Como’s win, the biggest away victories by Serie A clubs had both been by an eight-goal margin. Atalanta beat SK Sarajevo 8-0 in the 2018 Europa League play-off, while Milan recorded an 8-0 victory against Union Luxembourg in 1961.
Milan’s match came in Europe’s leading club competition, although the tournament was known as the European Cup at the time.
Como’s 9-1 success therefore eclipsed the previous Serie A record for an away win in European football, while also becoming the first nine-goal performance by an Italian club in a European match.
