Como vs RB Leipzig 4-1 - Champions League Matchday 1 Match Report

Como and RB Leipzig met at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia in the UEFA Champions League league phase, and the shape of the match explained the scoreline far better than the bare numbers do. RB Leipzig went down to 4-1 and spent the remainder of the evening trying to pull the game back. The turning point came at the 15 minute mark, when Martin Baturina struck it with quality, and everything that followed was played in that new landscape. Como won 4-1 and carried the points home. 10198 supporters filled Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, and the noise never really left the players alone. Neither side arrived in the best form: the last five results read D L D W W for Como and L L W W L for RB Leipzig, and both sets of players knew what a slip would cost.

Match facts

• Date: 2026-09-10
• Kick-off: 19:00 UTC
• Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como, Italy (13602)
• Attendance: 10198
• Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands)
• Competition: UEFA Champions League 2026/2027 - Matchday 1
• Starting line-ups: Como (4-2-3-1, Coach: Cesc Fàbregas) / RB Leipzig (4-2-3-1, Coach: Martín Demichelis)
• Scorers: Martin Baturina 15'; Anastasios Douvikas 38'; Assane Diao 54'; Máximo Perrone 90'; Andrija Maksimović 58'

Como lined up with Jean Butez, Yan Couto, Jacobo Ramón, Trevoh Chalobah, Álex Valle, Luis Milla, Lucas Da Cunha, Assane Diao, Nico Paz, Martin Baturina, Anastasios Douvikas in a 4-2-3-1, while RB Leipzig answered with Maarten Vandevoordt, Ridle Baku, Willi Orbán, Castello Lukeba, David Raum, Neil El Aynaoui, Nicolas Seiwald, Andrija Maksimović, Christopher Nkunku, Antonio Nusa, Marc Guiu in a 4-2-3-1. Cesc Fàbregas and Martín Demichelis led their respective sides from the touchline, and both had a plan for the first hour that they wanted to keep intact.

Goals and key moments

Goal details, minutes and scorers are the part of the record that separate one evening from another. At the 15' mark, Martin Baturina struck it with quality, with supplying the pass that made it possible, and 1-0 was the consequence. It was a chance worth 0.265 expected goals, which is exactly why it was worth taking. 38': Anastasios Douvikas scored cleanly, Martin Baturina helping it over the line, and it was 2-0 almost immediately. 54': Assane Diao found the far corner, Nico Paz helping it over the line, and it was 3-0 almost immediately. 58': Andrija Maksimović kept the composure the moment demanded, Christopher Nkunku helping it over the line, and it was 3-1 almost immediately. 90': Máximo Perrone turned the move into the opening the team had been chasing, Nico Paz helping it over the line, and it was 4-1 almost immediately. That strike changed the temperature of the evening: from that point the leading side could play for the counter while the chasing side had to take risks in the spaces that had opened up. Not every opening was taken, though, and the chances that were missed told their own story. Taken together, the goals gave the evening a shape that the scoreline on its own never explained.

The tactical picture

Como started in 4-2-3-1 under Cesc Fàbregas, while RB Leipzig answered with 4-2-3-1 under Martín Demichelis, and those two shapes decided most of what happened on the field. Neither manager was willing to hand the central ground over for free, and the shape of the game followed that refusal. The midfield was the part of the pitch both sides wanted, and the numbers show who managed to take it. The side that pressed high won the second ball, which left the other team unable to build from the back and forced them into hopeful passes. The width of the pitch worked against the team that kept attacking down the same flank, and they were closed down every time. Transitions were the story: one side moved the ball forward at speed, the other could not. The tactical conversation between the two benches was as much a part of the evening as the movement of the ball itself.

Tactical reading

Como set up in a 4-2-3-1 against the 4-2-3-1 of RB Leipzig, and the two shapes decided how the ball actually moved: Como completed 519 passes at 90% accuracy while RB Leipzig answered with 498 and 89%. The duel numbers underline the same story, as Como won 53 duels against 38 for RB Leipzig, completed 19 tackles to 13 and read 6 passes compared with 7. Chance creation was the decisive column of the table, with Como generating 7 clear chances and 10 shots from inside the box against 3 and 8, which is exactly why the goalkeepers had to make 3 and 2 saves between them.

Statistical comparison

The statistical picture is as revealing as the scoreline itself. Expected goals told the sharper story: 2.98 for Como against 1.36 for RB Leipzig. Como attempted 14 shots to RB Leipzig's 14, with 6 on target against 4. Possession finished at 50 per cent for Como against 50 per cent for RB Leipzig, and it is worth noting which side actually used it. Como won 1 corners to RB Leipzig's 5, and that is where most of the set-piece danger came from. Como completed 467 of 519 passes against 444 of 498 for RB Leipzig, a difference that shows how differently the two sides circulated the ball. Fouls were committed 9 times by Como and 10 by RB Leipzig, with 0 and 0 red cards in the official count. The goalkeepers made 3 and 2 saves respectively, and on a night like this that work decides how the result is remembered. The duels went 53 to 38, which is usually the cleanest single indicator of who was prepared to spend effort on the ball. Tackles were completed 19 times by Como and 13 by RB Leipzig, and the duels that followed tell the same story as the rest of the evening.

Discipline and substitutions

Discipline and substitutions shaped the second half more than the scoreline suggests. Como collected 2 yellow cards and RB Leipzig 3, and the caution count of 5 in total meant the referee had to manage a game that was becoming increasingly physical around the halfway line. Both coaches used their changes: 5 by Como and 5 by RB Leipzig, with the last substitution of the evening coming late. The emotional temperature of the evening rose and fell with the challenges and with the decisions taken by both benches. Serdar Gözübüyük took charge of the match and had a relatively straightforward evening by the standards of the competition.

Player of the match and the standout performers

Individual performances separated the two teams across a full ninety minutes. Nico Paz of Como was the player of the match with a rating of 8.9, and every touch that mattered carried his name on it. For Como, the best individual rating belonged to Nico Paz, and for RB Leipzig it belonged to Andrija Maksimović. The gap between the best performances on each side was the reason the result never really looked as comfortable as it was. Across the two squads the highest individual ratings read Nico Paz (8.92), Martin Baturina (8.76), Assane Diao (8.54), Jean Butez (7.68).

What the result means for the league phase

Como on points from 3 matches, in 9 place with a goal difference of 5, and RB Leipzig on points from 3 matches, in 30 place with a goal difference of -5. Como arrived with D L D W W in their last five and RB Leipzig with L L W W L, so the result fits the run both of them have been on. For the winner the three points are banked and the group is a shade closer to settled; for the other side the work still to be done, and this result has made that plain. What the numbers cannot show is how hard the result was worked for, and how differently the two sides will remember it. The next round of the league phase will tell more: whoever adjusts first in the coming days will be the one who controls the group.