Cesc Fàbregas, the manager of Italian club Como, spoke at length about the historic and emphatic 9-1 victory his side achieved against France's Lens in the Champions League. For all his delight at the record result and the outstanding debut of young Mattia Baba Thiaw, one thing still nagged at him: the goal his side conceded.
Como became the first Italian club in history to score 9 goals in a single Champions League match, and they also recorded the biggest away winning margin in the competition's history. Seven different players shared the goals in a scoring festival: Tasos Douvikas (hat-trick), Nico Paz, Lucas Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina and the promising Baba Thiaw, who scored from his first touch on his official debut.
The fourth round of the league phase leaves Como fourth in the table on 9 points, behind Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Arsenal, in their first ever appearance in the continental competition. That run has also included two heavy 4-1 defeats to Leipzig and Manchester United.
Fàbregas reflected on the achievement in his interview with the Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport": "That is true, we have written ourselves into the history books. It was an unforgettable night for our fans and for the club. Everything went in our favour, but we must continue in this manner because we have another extremely important match on Sunday."
Fourth in Serie A as well, Como now face a daunting trip to the San Siro to take on reigning champions Inter Milan.
On his preparations for the clash with the Nerazzurri, the Spanish coach said: "It is right to enjoy this moment because the group deserves it, but football moves at a very fast pace. I have already told the players that we must turn the page on the Lens match and think only about Inter. A very difficult encounter awaits us at their stadium, and it will be an overwhelming challenge physically and mentally. We do not have much time, but we must prepare in the best possible way. The goal is to go to Milan and show our true identity, as this will be our ninth match between the international breaks, and we must try to finish it well and then turn the page again."
Back to that thrashing of Lens, Fàbregas insisted the result was nothing more than "the start of the journey" for Como in Europe: "No one could have predicted a 9-1 result, it is a result that does not usually happen in football and occurs once in a lifetime. I am proud of my players, and the figures are truly excellent, but we are still at the start of our journey in the Champions League and have only played four matches."
He concluded: "We put in a good performance against Lens, even if the first five minutes of the second half were marked by some sloppiness, but we performed well defensively and offensively, although the goal we conceded angered me. Some things changed at the back when we made three substitutions, but it was my former teammate Aguilar who scored that wonderful goal."