Nico Paz pays tribute to Jesus de Miguel as Fabregas' Como become first team to score 9 away goals in UCL

Chelsea fans used to sing that Fabregas is magic. Yes, he is magic.

The Spaniard made waves in football as a player, winning major trophies with Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea. Now, he is making waves as a manager in Europe's elite club competition.

His Como side produced an extraordinary performance on Wednesday night, thrashing French club Lens 9–1 away from home to rewrite the Champions League record books.

The Italian side, playing in their debut Champions League campaign, became the first team to score nine goals away from home in the competition's history.

The eight goal winning margin also equalled the Champions League record held by Liverpool, who defeated Besiktaş 8–0 in 2007, and Real Madrid, who beat Malmö by the same scoreline in 2015.

Como also became only the second team to score nine goals in a Champions League match after Bayern Munich's 9–2 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in 2024.

And the records did not end there.

Fabregas' side have now scored 19 goals in their opening four Champions League matches, breaking Juventus' previous competition record of 14 for a club's first four games.

And the football they are playing is a simply a joy to watch. They attack and defend as a unit. The positional rotations of players make it hard for opposition to defend them.

Nico Paz pays emotional tribute to Jesús de Miguel

Greek striker Tasos Douvikas was the star of the night with a hat trick, while Argentine midfielder Nico Paz contributed a goal and two assists.

But Paz also produced one of the most emotional moments of the evening.

After scoring Como's third goal, the 22 year old, who was born in Tenerife, celebrated by displaying a shirt featuring a photograph of Jesus de Miguel, the Tenerife striker who tragically died following a collision with a goalkeeper earlier this week.

The shirt carried the message "Descansa en paz", meaning "Rest in peace".

Paz, who spent time in Tenerife's youth academy, had also expressed his grief following the footballer's death.

Como's remarkable Champions League campaign

The 9–1 victory came just two weeks after Como stunned Manchester United 4–1.

Fàbregas' side have now won three of their opening four Champions League matches, scoring 19 goals and moving to fourth in the league phase standings.

For a club making its debut in Europe's biggest club competition, it has been a remarkable journey.

And Fabregas, who entertained football fans for years with his intelligence and creativity on the pitch, is now doing something similar from the touchline.