Como's 9-1 Rout of Lens Ties Champions League Record as Real Madrid and Fenerbahce Win Late Thrillers

LENS, France — Como produced one of the great nights in Champions League history on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, thrashing Lens 9-1 away from home to equal the competition's biggest-ever winning margin, on a matchday four evening that also delivered two gripping 3-2 thrillers as Real Madrid struck late at AEK Athens and Fenerbahce ended Liverpool's perfect start in Istanbul.

The headline act belonged to the debutants. Cesc Fabregas's Como, playing in the Champions League for the first time, scored three times before half-time and six more after it at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, with Greek striker Anastasios Douvikas scoring a hat-trick and Nico Paz starring in a performance that carried the Italian side to fourth in the 36-team league phase at the halfway point, on nine points from four games.

Illustration: A football team celebrating a record away victory in a large stadium at night under floodlights.

What Happened

Como wasted no time in Lens. Douvikas prodded home after seven minutes, added a second on 32 minutes, and Nico Paz made it 3-0 with a fierce left-footed strike five minutes before half-time. Whatever hope Lens had of regrouping at the break disappeared immediately after the restart, as Lucas Da Cunha scored early in the second half and the goals kept coming.

Marc-Oliver Kempf headed in, Douvikas completed his hat-trick in the second half, and Mattia Liberali added another before Ruben Aguilar pulled one back for Lens in the 65th minute. There was no mercy in the closing stages: Martin Baturina scored, and 18-year-old substitute Matteo Papaccioli marked his debut with the historic ninth goal in stoppage time.

UEFA confirmed the scale of the achievement: Como equalled the biggest margin of victory in Champions League history, matching Liverpool's 8-0 win over Besiktas in 2007 and Real Madrid's 8-0 victory against Malmo in 2015, and became only the second team, after Bayern Munich's 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb in 2024, to score nine goals in a single Champions League match. It was also the biggest away win in the competition's history. According to statisticians Opta, Como were the first team to score nine goals away from home in a European Cup match since Feyenoord won 9-0 at Olympiacos Nicosia in 1971, and the first side to have 11 different players score or assist in a Champions League match.

Douvikas, who has now scored in all four of Como's Champions League games this season, moved to six goals for the campaign, making him the competition's top scorer at the midway point, according to UEFA. Como have won three of their four league-phase games — against RB Leipzig, Manchester United and now Lens — with Feyenoord the only side to have beaten them.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, the drama came in the early kick-offs. Real Madrid twice came from behind to beat AEK Athens 3-2 in Greece, with Federico Valverde lashing home a long-range winner in stoppage time to preserve the 15-time European champions' perfect record. Aboubakary Koita had put AEK ahead after 12 minutes, Jude Bellingham equalised, and after AEK went ahead again, Kylian Mbappe levelled before Valverde's late strike. Real sit second on 12 points from four matches, behind holders Paris Saint-Germain on goal difference, according to Reuters, while AEK are 30th on three points.

In Istanbul, Fenerbahce twice came from behind to beat Liverpool 3-2 and hand the English side their first defeat of this season's league phase. Trey Nyoni put Liverpool ahead in the 25th minute, only for former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood to equalise four minutes later. Alexander Isak restored Liverpool's lead in the second half, Archie Brown levelled in the 73rd minute, and substitute Vedat Muriqi headed the winner in the 79th minute. It was Fenerbahce's first Champions League victory since 2008, and a particularly sweet one for interim coach Dirk Kuyt, the former Liverpool striker, who was taking charge of only his second match after Ismail Kartal's departure. Liverpool, who had won their first three European games under Andoni Iraola, dropped to nine points; Fenerbahce climbed to 19th on five points.

Illustration: A football striker completing a hat-trick by striking the ball toward goal in a packed stadium.

The other Wednesday results kept the table moving. Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Prague, Manchester City edged RB Leipzig 3-2 thanks to Erling Haaland's winner, Porto beat Napoli 4-1, Borussia Dortmund defeated Real Betis 2-1, Club Brugge won 2-1 at PSV Eindhoven, and Viking FK claimed their first-ever Champions League victory, 4-1 over Sabah.

Background

Como's rise is one of the most remarkable stories in modern European football. The club have climbed from the lower divisions of Italian football to the Champions League in a short space of time, and their debut campaign has already produced wins over established names. Fabregas, the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder, has built a side that plays with attacking confidence regardless of the occasion — and in Lens, that confidence turned into a rout.

The records Como matched underline how rare such a night is. Before Wednesday, only two teams had won a Champions League match by eight goals, both 8-0 at home: Liverpool against Besiktas in November 2007 and Real Madrid against Malmo in December 2015. Bayern Munich's 9-2 defeat of Dinamo Zagreb in September 2024 stood alone as the only nine-goal haul by one team in a Champions League game — until Como's nine in France. Como's 19 goals in four games also equalled the most scored by any club in their first four major European matches, matching Queens Park Rangers in 1976, according to Opta figures reported after the match.

The wider context matters too. This is the second season of the Champions League's league-phase format, in which 36 teams play eight matches each and the top eight qualify directly for the last 16, while teams finishing ninth to 24th enter a play-off round. At the halfway point, that structure makes every goal count: goal difference can decide who avoids two extra ties in February, and Como's eight-goal margin is a prize in itself.

For Real Madrid, the late win in Athens continued a familiar theme. Jose Mourinho's side — the former Real coach now in charge of AEK, facing his old club — twice led, and twice Real responded, before Valverde's stoppage-time strike. Reuters noted that Real have now scored seven goals in the final 15 minutes of second halves in this season's competition, more than any other team, according to Opta. For Liverpool, the defeat in Istanbul followed a Premier League loss to Arsenal on Sunday, making it back-to-back defeats in all competitions, and it exposed a defensive record that had already seen them concede ten times in four Champions League games.

Why It Matters

Como's result matters for three reasons. First, it transforms their season: nine points from four games, with a goal difference boosted beyond recognition, puts direct qualification for the last 16 firmly in their hands rather than in the play-off lottery. Second, it announces a new force in European football. Debutants are supposed to learn on the job in this competition; Como are teaching lessons instead, and their performances against Leipzig, Manchester United and Lens will change how opponents prepare for them.

Third, it is a reminder of what the league-phase format can produce. The old group stage rarely threw together a debutant in this kind of form against a side enduring a third straight defeat — Lens's loss was their third in a row in the competition, and a record defeat for a French club in the Champions League. The new format's variety of fixtures, rather than the same three opponents home and away, creates nights like this one.

The other results matter in the title race. Real Madrid's perfect record, kept alive by Valverde's late strike, keeps them level with PSG at the top and sustains the sense that the holders and the record champions are setting the pace. Liverpool's first defeat does not derail their campaign — nine points still leaves them well placed — but it ends the air of invincibility around Iraola's side in Europe and gives chasing teams a blueprint: press their defence, as Fenerbahce did, and the goals will come.

Illustration: A footballer scoring a dramatic long-range late winner as the crowd erupts in a stadium at night.

What Happens Next

With four rounds of the league phase still to play, the race for the top eight is wide open. Como will look to consolidate their position in the next round of fixtures, while Lens must stop the slide quickly if they are to stay in contention for even a play-off place. Real Madrid and PSG will aim to extend their perfect starts, and Liverpool will look to respond to consecutive defeats when European football returns.

Watch, too, for what Como's night does to the record books and to Fabregas's reputation. A manager who arrived with a big playing reputation and a bold attacking idea is now coaching a team that has produced the joint-biggest win in Champions League history. Opponents will study Lens's collapse closely — not just for how Como attacked, but for how quickly a game can run away from a team once belief goes.

For the neutrals, Wednesday was a reminder of why this competition endures: a record rout in France, a stoppage-time winner in Athens and a famous comeback in Istanbul, all on one night, with the table still to be decided over four more rounds.

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FAQ

What was the score between Lens and Como?

Como won 9-1 away at Lens on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in the UEFA Champions League league phase, matchday four.

What Champions League record did Como equal?

Como equalled the biggest winning margin in Champions League history — eight goals — matching Liverpool's 8-0 win over Besiktas in 2007 and Real Madrid's 8-0 win over Malmo in 2015. They also became only the second team to score nine goals in a Champions League match, after Bayern Munich's 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb in 2024.

Who scored a hat-trick for Como?

Anastasios Douvikas scored three times, taking his tally to six goals in this season's competition — the most of any player at the halfway point, according to UEFA. Nico Paz also starred, scoring once and setting up further goals.

How did Real Madrid beat AEK Athens?

Real Madrid won 3-2 in Athens after twice coming from behind. Federico Valverde scored the winner with a long-range strike in stoppage time, preserving Real's perfect record of four wins from four.

Why was Fenerbahce's win over Liverpool significant?

Fenerbahce's 3-2 win was their first Champions League victory since 2008 and ended Liverpool's perfect start to this season's competition. Interim coach Dirk Kuyt, a former Liverpool striker, was taking charge of only his second match.

Sources

• UEFA, "Champions League highlights and round-up: Como equal biggest-ever win, Real Madrid stay perfect," November 4-5, 2026.
• Reuters, "Valverde rescues Real as Liverpool lose at Fenerbahce," November 4, 2026.
• Associated Press, via Sportsnet, "Champions League Roundup: Real Madrid pulls off another comeback, Liverpool beaten by Fenerbahce," November 4, 2026.
• theScore, "Como equal UCL record with historic 9-1 win over Lens," November 4, 2026.
• Sports Mole, "Wednesday's Champions League roundup: Como make Champions League history as Real Madrid leave it late," November 4, 2026.