Nine goals in Lens, a late Erling Haaland winner in Leipzig and a stoppage-time rescue act from Real Madrid in Athens: Wednesday’s Champions League action delivered a glut of goals and no shortage of drama. But the headlines belonged to an Italian club that was playing fourth-tier football just seven years ago and is now rewriting the competition’s record books.
Douvikas hat-trick powers Como to historic victory
Como’s extraordinary 9-1 win at Lens equalled several Champions League records. Their eight-goal winning margin matched Liverpool’s 8-0 victory over Beşiktaş in 2007 and Real Madrid’s 8-0 demolition of Malmö in 2015. No visiting side had ever won a Champions League match by eight goals before. Como also equalled Bayern Munich’s record of nine goals in a single game, set in their 9-2 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in 2024.
The Italians were already 3-0 up at half-time thanks to two goals from Anastasios Douvikas and another from Nico Paz. Lens then collapsed after the restart. Lucas da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Douvikas struck within ten minutes to make it 6-0, with the Greek striker completing his hat-trick.
Mattia Liberali added a seventh before Ruben Aguilar pulled one back for Lens. Martin Baturina restored Como’s seven-goal advantage, and 18-year-old Matteo Papaccioli completed the rout in stoppage time. His effort was initially ruled out for offside but awarded following a VAR review.
Como scored nine times from just 18 attempts, despite generating approximately 4.3 expected goals. Their finishing was more than twice as productive as the quality of their chances would ordinarily suggest.
From the fourth tier to Champions League history
As recently as 2019, Como were competing in Serie D, the fourth division of Italian football. They reached Serie B in 2021 and returned to the top flight in 2024. Under Cesc Fàbregas, who initially joined the club as a player in 2022, Como continued their remarkable rise and qualified for the Champions League for the first time after finishing fourth in Serie A in 2025-26.
That progress has carried into Europe. Como sit fourth in the league-phase standings with nine points from four matches, having previously beaten Manchester United and RB Leipzig 4-1. With 19 goals already scored, the newcomers possess one of the competition’s most prolific attacks.
Haaland settles five-goal thriller in Leipzig
Manchester City twice surrendered the lead before Erling Haaland secured a 3-2 victory at RB Leipzig. A bizarre own goal from Castello Lukeba put the visitors ahead, but Ridle Baku equalised shortly after half-time, beating Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post.
Enzo Fernández restored City’s lead with a powerful header from an Iliman Ndiaye cross in the 58th minute. Just three minutes later, Antonio Nusa levelled again after being set up by Christopher Nkunku.
Haaland finally settled matters in the 78th minute, converting after Elliot Anderson surged forward. The Norwegian scored with only his 13th touch of the match, taking his tally against Leipzig to 13 goals. He has scored more often against the German side than against any other opponent. City now have three wins from four Champions League fixtures.
Valverde snatches last-gasp winner for Real Madrid
Real Madrid also needed a late intervention to secure a 3-2 victory at AEK Athens. Aboubakary Koïta gave the Greek side an early lead before Jude Bellingham equalised with an audacious backheel finish.
Stavros Pilios put AEK back in front in the 75th minute, but Kylian Mbappé responded with an equaliser that brought up his 100th Champions League goal involvement: 74 goals and 26 assists in 102 appearances. Only Lionel Messi reached that milestone faster.
Federico Valverde then struck from distance in the 92nd minute to complete another dramatic turnaround. It was already the fifth time José Mourinho’s side had scored a match-winning goal in the 85th minute or later this season.
Porto overwhelm Napoli as Dortmund edge Betis
Porto secured an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Napoli. Jan Bednarek opened the scoring after eleven minutes, only for Scott McTominay to equalise before the break. Gabri Veiga and Jakub Kiwior then put Porto in control, before Samu Aghehowa converted a penalty to complete the scoring. Napoli defender Rafa Marín was sent off immediately before the spot-kick.
Borussia Dortmund defeated Real Betis 2-1. Following Serhou Guirassy’s withdrawal through injury, Fábio Silva put Dortmund ahead. Aitor Ruibal equalised, but substitute Konstantinos Karetsas struck in the 72nd minute to secure BVB’s third victory of the league phase.
Arsenal hold on as Liverpool suffer in Istanbul
Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Prague, with Viktor Gyökeres providing an assist before scoring himself. Club Brugge claimed a 2-1 away victory against PSV Eindhoven, while Viking Stavanger recorded their first league-phase win with a 4-1 triumph over Sabah.
Liverpool, meanwhile, fell to a 3-2 defeat at Fenerbahçe. Andoni Iraola’s side twice surrendered the lead and conceded all three goals from set-piece situations. Our separate match analysis examines the defensive problems behind the Reds’ defeat in Istanbul.
