Como marked their first-ever appearance in a UEFA competition with a stunning 4-1 win over RB Leipzig at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, with goals from Martin Baturina, Tasos Douvikas, Assane Diao, and Máximo Perrone. It capped a big night across the Champions League’s opening matchday, which also saw Bayern Munich thrash Bodø/Glimt 5-0, Roma held to a 1-1 draw by returning side Fenerbahce, and Lens snatch a stoppage-time win over ten-man Slavia Prague.
Como waited 119 years to play a match in European competition. It took them just 15 minutes to make it worth the wait.
A Historic Night on the Shores of Lake Como
Cesc Fàbregas’s side marked their first-ever UEFA competition appearance with a one-sided 4-1 win over RB Leipzig, sweeping aside the Bundesliga club in front of their home crowd at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Como’s qualification for Europe’s top club competition — secured with a fourth-place finish in Serie A last season, ahead of both Juventus and AC Milan — set off a summer scramble to get their lakeside stadium up to UEFA’s hosting standards. The work paid off in the form of a night the club’s 11,000-strong crowd won’t soon forget.
Martin Baturina delivered the club’s first-ever Champions League goal in the 15th minute, pouncing after Douvikas’s low cross was only half-cleared and finishing calmly from inside the box. Just over 20 minutes later, the roles reversed: Baturina played a defense-splitting pass into space, and Douvikas ran onto it, held off defender Castello Lukeba, and drilled the ball home to make it 2-0 at the break.
Como picked up where they left off after the restart. Senegalese winger Assane Diao struck in the 54th minute, finishing across goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt from a tight angle to make it 3-0. Leipzig pulled a goal back four minutes later through Andrija Maksimović, whose first-time strike from the edge of the box briefly threatened a comeback. It didn’t materialize — Máximo Perrone wrapped up the scoring with Como’s fourth in the 90th minute, sealing a rout that few outside Como itself could have predicted.
Como’s rise to this moment has been anything but conventional. The Lombardy-based club has gone bankrupt twice in the past two decades, and only ended a 21-year wait to return to Serie A in 2024, climbing through three promotions in six seasons under Fàbregas’s guidance. With tickets for the historic match sold out, club president Mirwan Suwarso and several directors announced they would give up their own seats so elderly supporters could attend.
Como will look to build on the momentum when they travel to Feyenoord on October 14.
Bayern Munich Cruise Past Bodø/Glimt
Elsewhere on the opening matchday, six-time champions Bayern Munich opened their campaign in equally emphatic fashion, thrashing Norway’s Bodø/Glimt 5-0 at the Allianz Arena. Jamal Musiala broke the deadlock just two minutes into the second half, and the floodgates opened from there — Harry Kane headed in his 34th Champions League goal for Bayern on the hour mark, Alphonso Davies added a thundering third, and Michael Olise capped the rout with a late brace as Vincent Kompany’s side put the result well out of reach.
Fenerbahçe Snatch a Point Against Roma
In Rome, Fenerbahçe marked their return to the Champions League after an 18-year absence with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Roma. Donyell Malen set up Bryan Cristante to break the deadlock in the 39th minute — Cristante’s first Champions League goal in the competition proper, coming 15 years after his debut in the tournament as a 16-year-old with AC Milan.
Fenerbahçe responded three minutes into the second half, with Mason Greenwood threading a pass through to Archie Brown, who chipped a finish over goalkeeper Mile Svilar to level the score. Roma nearly snatched a late winner when Nathan Aké headed against the crossbar, but Fenerbahçe held on for a point on their return to Europe’s top table.
PSV and Shakhtar Share the Points
PSV Eindhoven avoided a sixth straight Champions League matchday-one defeat, drawing 1-1 at home against Shakhtar Donetsk. Gleiker Mendoza put the visitors ahead with a stunning low finish from a wide cutback, but Sergino Dest’s clinical finish shortly after the restart ensured the Dutch side began their campaign with at least a point.
Late Drama as Lens Sink Ten-Man Slavia Prague
The most dramatic finish of the night belonged to Lens, who came from behind twice to beat ten-man Slavia Prague 3-2 in stoppage time. Slavia had Mikuláš Konečný sent off shortly after halftime following a VAR review, but still took the lead through Daniel Sturm. Abdallah Sima equalized for the visitors, only for Sturm to restore Slavia’s advantage in the 88th minute, sending the home crowd into raptures. It proved to be a false dawn: Florian Thauvin leveled the score in the 91st minute, and Ruben Aguilar struck a pinpoint winner moments later to complete a stunning turnaround for Lens.
