Wednesday night’s UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 delivered drama, a historic thrashing, late winners and one major upset that ended a perfect start. Cesc Fàbregas’ Como produced the standout performance with a 9-1 demolition of Lens, equalling the modern Champions League record for most goals scored in a single game and setting a new mark for the biggest away win.

Anastasios Douvikas led the charge with a hat-trick as Como, in their debut European campaign, ran riot at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Nico Paz, Lucas da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina and 18-year-old debutant Matteo Papaccioli also scored. Lens managed only a Ruben Aguilar consolation. The result matched Bayern Munich’s nine-goal haul against Dinamo Zagreb in 2024 and equalled the eight-goal winning margin of Liverpool’s 8-0 over Be?ikta? (2007) and Real Madrid’s 8-0 against Malmö (2015). Como have now scored 19 goals in four league-phase games.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid maintained their perfect record with a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory at AEK Athens. Jude Bellingham equalised after Aboubakary Koita’s opener, but Stavros Pilios restored the Greek side’s lead. Kylian Mbappé levelled late before Federico Valverde’s stunning stoppage-time strike sealed the win. Los Blancos remain flawless.

The biggest shock came in Istanbul, where Fenerbahçe ended Liverpool’s perfect Champions League start with a 3-2 victory. Trey Nyoni and Alexander Isak twice put the Reds ahead, only for Mason Greenwood, Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi to complete a memorable comeback for the Turkish side. Liverpool’s multi-million-pound squad could not recover.

Manchester City edged a thriller at RB Leipzig, winning 3-2 thanks to Erling Haaland’s late winner. An own goal by Castello Lukeba and Enzo Fernández’s strike had given City the lead twice, but Ridle Baku and Antonio Nusa replied for the hosts before Haaland, who has a strong record against Leipzig, struck in the 78th minute.

Porto produced another big result, thrashing Napoli 4-1 at the Estádio do Dragão with goals from Jan Bednarek, Gabri Veiga, Jakub Kiwior and a Samu Aghehowa penalty. Scott McTominay replied for the Italians. Borussia Dortmund ground out a 2-1 home win over Real Betis through Fábio Silva and Konstantinos Karetsas after Aitor Ruibal had equalised.

Arsenal secured a professional 2-1 victory at Slavia Prague. Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres scored in the first half; a late Nowak goal proved only a consolation. Club Brugge claimed a valuable 2-1 away win at PSV Eindhoven with strikes from Nicolò Tresoldi and Carlos Forbs, sandwiching a Keito Sano reply. Viking completed the night’s results with a comfortable 4-1 home win over Sabah.

The night belonged to Como’s record-breaking display and Fenerbahçe’s giant-killing. Real Madrid and Manchester City showed the resilience of established powers, while Arsenal, Porto and Dortmund collected solid points.

Matchday 4 of the league phase mixed historic scoring, late drama and a genuine shock, setting up an intriguing continuation of the 2026/27 Champions League campaign.

Be the first to comment on this article.