Goalscoring Como playmaker Nico Paz paid his respects to Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, following his death on Tuesday, during his side’s Champions League thrashing of Lens.
Paz scored his side’s third goal in their 9-1 romp at Lens on Wednesday night and during the celebrations marked his own tribute to De Miguel.
Miguel died on Tuesday morning less than 24 hours after a collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during their Spanish second division match on Monday. Having suffered serious head and chest injuries he subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest.
Despite playing for Argentina, Paz was born in Tenerife and he paid homage to his hometown club by holding a shirt aloft with a picture of De Miguel alongside a caption: ‘Rest in peace’. Paz also spent time in Tenerife’s youth system from 2014-16.
Como led 3-0 at half-time with hat-trick hero Anastasios Douvikas scoring two at that point before Paz’s goal and his De Miguel tribute.
Soon after the interval the Serie A outfit crushed any notion of the hosts coming back as they plundered in five goals in a devastating 22-minute spell which included Douvikas completing his hat-trick. Lucas Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali, Martina Baturina also got in on the act during that period.
Como’s Nico Paz paid tribute to Jesus de Miguel during his goalscoring celebration vs Lens
Despite playing for Argentina, Paz was born in Tenerife and also played for their youth teams
Tenerife striker De Miguel died on Tuesday morning after a horrifying clash with Jesus Owono
Ruben Aguilar pulled one back for Lens before Matteo Papaccioli rounded off the rout in stoppage time. The 18-year-old Papaccioli, who came on in the second half, is a member of Como’s youth team and hasn’t even played in Serie A yet.
Wednesday’s win means Como have broken many records in the Champions League.
The Italian side matched the eight-goal winning margins recorded by Liverpool and Real Madrid in their 8-0 home victories over Besiktas and Malmo respectively. They also became only the second team after Bayern Munich to score nine goals in a Champions League match.
Como followed their 4-1 victory over Manchester United with another emphatic performance, becoming the first team to score nine goals away from home in the European Cup since 1971 – Feyenoord beat Olympiacos Nicosia by this scoreline – as they climbed to fourth in the standings on nine points. The previous best scoring performance by an away club in the Champions League was Bayern Munich’s 8-2 win over Barcelona at a neutral venue (Lisbon) in 2020.
Cesc Fabregas’ side may have made Champions League record-equalling history, but Feyenoord hold the European Cup mark for most goals scored in a single match, having beaten Icelandic side KR 12-2 in September 1969.
‘Today everything went our way,’ said an ecstatic Fabregas post-match. ‘A great night for Como and our fans.’
Lens, who suffered the heaviest defeat by a French club in the competition, are 33rd with three points.
