Cesc Fàbregas, head coach of Italian club Como, spoke at length about the historic and emphatic 9-1 victory his side achieved over France's Lens in the Champions League, stressing that despite his delight at the result and the outstanding debut of young Mattia Papaciello, one thing left him frustrated: the goal his side conceded.
Como became the first Italian club in history to score nine goals in a single Champions League match. They also recorded the largest away winning margin in the competition's history, a goal-scoring festival in which seven different players shared the nine strikes. They were: Tasos Douvikas with a hat-trick, Nico Paz, Lucas Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina, and the promising Papaciello, who scored with his first touch on his official debut.
With the fourth round of the league phase complete, Como sit fourth on 9 points behind Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Arsenal in their first ever appearance on the continent. That same campaign has also brought 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's 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 have to continue in this manner because we have another extremely important match on Sunday."
Fourth in Serie A too, Como now face a daunting trip to defending champions Inter Milan at the San Siro.
On his preparations for the clash with the Nerazzurri, the Spanish coach said: "It is only right that we 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 a gruelling challenge physically and mentally. We don't have much time, but we must prepare in the best possible way. The aim is to go to Milan and show our true identity, as this will be our ninth match between the two international breaks, and we must try to finish it well and then turn the page again."
Returning to the Lens rout, Fàbregas insisted the result was only "the start of the journey" for Como in Europe: "No one would have expected a 9-1 result, as 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 numbers are truly excellent, but we are still at the beginning of our journey in the Champions League and have only played four matches."
He concluded: "We played a good match against Lens, even if the first five minutes of the second half were marred by some superficiality, 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."