If anyone was wondering why many football fans in Argentina see Nico Paz as the heir to Lionel Messi’s legendary number 10 shirt with the Albiceleste, they received a clear answer tonight. The young attacking midfielder produced a spectacular performance at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, scoring twice and providing an assist to destroy Manchester United and make it abundantly clear that past glories count for nothing in modern football — 4–1 (1–0).
Como are exactly what the Champions League has been missing in recent years: a team willing to go toe-to-toe with any opponent and take the game to them, regardless of where that might lead. Cesc Fabregas’s side charged towards the Red Devils’ goal from the very first second, unleashing a storm that simply swept away the entire tactical structure of Michael Carrick’s out-of-sorts team.
United fared even worse in Lombardy than Leipzig did in the opening round, despite the scoreline being identical. The Germans at least tried to trade blows with their superior opponents and find a way back into the match, whereas the English side were thoroughly beaten. The visitors failed to create a single clear-cut chance in front of the home goal until deep into stoppage time.
Just how powerless they were is illustrated by the fact that they did not register their first shot on target out of four in total until the 60th minute. In the end, they managed to score a consolation goal through Joshua Zirkzee in the first minute of stoppage time, although they had done little to deserve it.3 – Nico Paz is the youngest 🇦🇷 Argentinian player (22 years, 43 days) to be involved in three goals (2 goals, 1 assist) in a UEFA Champions League game since 21-year-old Lionel Messi in April 2009 against Bayern Munich.
What defines this phenomenal Fabregas team is its incredible hunger for goals. After Paz had scored in the second and 57th minutes and assisted Anastasios Douvikas in the 49th, Jacobo Ramon continued the rout in the 76th minute, brilliantly finishing off a perfect cross from the left flank by Caqueret Bruno. The symbolic connection between Nico Paz and Lionel Messi is further underlined by the fact that the Argentine, aged 22 years and 43 days, became the second-youngest South American player to score against Manchester United.
The youngest is Messi, who was 21 years and 337 days old when he scored in the 2009 Champions League final. Paz now has two goals and three assists after three matches in Europe’s elite competition. Como have six points and a goal difference of 10–5. It seems the question is no longer whether we will see them in the knockout stages, but whether they could even challenge for direct qualification to the round of 16.The build up to Como fourth goal.
Douvikas maintained his average of a goal per game and remains high up the Champions League scoring charts, with only Demirović, Guirassy, Haaland and Tresoldi ahead of him, each with four goals. The Greek striker could easily have reached that tally himself, having missed two excellent chances towards the end of the first half. First, in the 35th minute, Lammens saved his angled effort, before Douvikas squandered a golden opportunity four minutes later. After a superb pass from Jan Couto on the right, he received the ball inside the penalty area but fired over the crossbar from a promising position.7 – Manchester United are winless in seven consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since a run of eight matches between November and December 2015.
In the second half, both before and after Como added to their tally, the game opened up, with several notable interventions at either end. In the 49th minute, just before the second goal, Baturina threatened with an excellent ball. Shortly after Como restored their lead, in the 54th minute to be precise, captain Lucas da Cunha turned nicely inside the penalty area and unleashed a shot that flashed narrowly wide.
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Midway through the second half, in the 59th minute, the unstoppable Nico Paz tried his luck from around 20 metres, but Lammens dealt with the effort comfortably. Manchester United avoided the “distinction” of equalling their heaviest Champions League defeat, dating back to 1994, when they lost 4–0 to Barcelona, thanks to a stoppage-time goal. However, it will be difficult for Michael Carrick to escape the sack that everyone across the British Isles is predicting. The problem is not just the heavy defeat, but also a level of performance that falls well below the standards expected of such a big club.