Lens-Como, CM’s player ratings: Nico Paz puts on a show, Douvikas like Del Piero. Papaccioli scores on debut
Como claim a devastating 9-1 win away to Lens
Goals, entertainment and only one team in it, on hostile ground too. Fabregas's Como blew Lens away. Here are the match ratings.
LENS
Risser 6: He can do nothing about eight of the nine goals he concedes and still emerges as his side's best player. But he is caught out at his near post for Liberali's goal to make it 7-0.
Antonio 5: He holds up better than his team-mates in the first 45 minutes, then loses his way with everyone else in a horror second half.
Baidoo 4: Douvikas never gives him a fixed point of reference, and he struggles badly. He leads a defence that Como cut open on the right, but above all on the left.
Udol 4: Sometimes he has to step out to Nico Paz, sometimes he has to track Douvikas's movement. All the while, he forgets to cover Da Cunha's run inside. He never gets to grips with it, and Como repeatedly break through on his side.
Aguilar 4.5: His beautiful volley earns him an extra point, but he is still one of his side's worst performers. His team lose their way down his flank and offer no resistance.
Cuisance 5: Always out of position and late to react, he is constantly bypassed. His only challenge worthy of the name comes at 8-1 and earns him a yellow card.
Haidara 5: He runs a lot, but with remarkably little purpose. He never manages to shield the defence from Como's forward passes.
(from the 70th minute, Bulatovic 5.5: he has the good fortune to come on when Como lower the tempo)
Skoras 5: Substituted at half-time, he makes just one mistake: failing to track Valle for the goal that makes it 2-0.
(from the 46th minute, Saud 5 like the team-mate he replaces, he sees Como make relatively few inroads on his side and suffers less of the humiliation inflicted by Nico Paz and company)
Thauvin 6: His side's most inspired player tries to find the net, roams across the entire forward line and almost wins a penalty.
(from the 70th minute, Kadile 5.5: he has the good fortune to come on when Como lower the tempo)
Ivanovic 5: His highlight, too, is the headbutt he gives Kempf and receives in return. He is left dazed and goes off at half-time.
(from the 46th minute, Mesloub 5: like his fellow attackers, he gets almost no playable balls and does next to nothing to go and get them).
Hazard 5: After Thauvin, he was supposed to bring the most talent and quality. He never provides any playable balls.
Manager Cahuzac 3: Fabregas runs rings around him, and he finds no answer. The result is fair, but the performance on the pitch warranted an even heavier defeat.
Como
Butez 6: Alert to Lens's few shots, he uses long balls to find Fabregas's forwards. He can do nothing about Aguilar's volleyed goal.
Couto 6.5: Lens never venture forward down his side, leaving him with more freedom than he uses. He plays forward whenever he can but never moves wide, ending up in Nico Paz's way.
Ramon 7: Douvikas steals the opening goal from him at close range, but Ramon again dominates in both penalty areas. His pass also sends Liberali through to score for 7-1.
Kempf 7: A clash of heads with Ivanovic threatened to define his match. Otherwise, he makes no mistakes marking his man and twists to head in a superb goal for a temporary 5-0 lead.
(from 72' Smolcic 6: After he comes on, Como slow the tempo and take control)
Valle 7: Solid defensively, he starts the move for 2-0 at the back and finishes it with the assist for Douvikas's easy tap-in.
Milla 7: He controls the tempo, the bursts of pace and the movement of the ball without drawing attention to himself. Simple and effective.
(from 58' Ricci 6.5: Like his team-mates, he does his job without mistakes or fanfare)
Perrone 7: His header leads to the opening goal that puts Lens under pressure. He is involved in every dangerous Como attack without drawing attention to himself and brings a physical presence to midfield challenges.
Da Cunha 7.5: The usual character, quality and courage on the ball. Composed defensively, he also scores the goal that makes it 4-0.
(from 58' Liberali 8: A goal and two assists, setting up Baturina and Papaccioli between the lines. The talent keeps growing)
Nico Paz 8.5: The Argentinian's trademark body feint and dribble trouble half the Lens defence on their own. His cross starts the move for 1-0, and he finishes with two assists and a goal. A phenomenon.
(from 58' Baturina 7: Replacing the best player on the pitch, he has no intention of being outdone and does brilliantly to beat Risser himself for 8-1)
Caqueret 6.5: Less explosive and less involved in Como's dominant attacking play than his team-mates, but he still does his job
Douvikas 8: Four goals in four matches, Como's first four in the Champions League, are already a record for the Greek striker. He equals a mark left by Alessandro Del Piero, who scored in the first five matches of Juventus's first Champions League campaign since the competition took that name in 1995/96. Douvikas completes his hat-trick and makes runs that open up oceans of space in the Lens defence. As things stand, he is also this Champions League's top scorer.
(from 61' Papaccioli 7: The young Como talent's excitement is there for all to see. He makes excellent runs and gets his reward in the 91st minute when Liberali plays him in just behind the line to score on his Champions League debut).
Fabregas 8: He reads the match superbly, makes the breakthrough early and keeps his foot on the accelerator. He outwits Lens at every turn and uses his substitutions to show his players where to attack. He can even give practically all his big names 30 minutes' rest ahead of the next Serie A match against Inter. Chivu has received the message, given that Lens have shown many of the flaws also seen in Inter at the start of this season.
