Como’s first Champions League campaign produced a defining night as Nico Paz drove Cesc Fàbregas’ side to a 4-1 home win over Manchester United. The 22-year-old scored twice and supplied an assist, turning an occasion of major European significance for the club into a personal statement.
Paz was 22 years and 43 days old when he delivered the standout display, earning MVP recognition after leading Como past one of the competition’s most decorated names. It was a result that altered the mood around the club’s week in Europe and placed the Argentine international at the centre of continental attention.
Quick facts
- Como beat Manchester United 4-1 at home in the Champions League.
- Nico Paz scored two goals and made one assist.
- The midfielder was 22 years and 43 days old on the night.
- Real Madrid hold a unilateral €80 million option to bring Paz back from Como 1907.
- Paz has made 14 appearances for Argentina’s senior national team.
Italian sports coverage hailed Paz’s double and described Como’s performance as a show led by their No. 10. Elsewhere, the display was labelled a masterclass, with praise for a player increasingly seen as the focal point of Fàbregas’ project.
“This is among the most special nights of my life and career, both for me and for the club,” Paz said after the final whistle. “I am still young, but I will never forget it. We faced one of the greatest clubs ever, and doing this at home is incredible.”
He said he felt comfortable throughout the match and credited the players around him, as well as the coaching staff, for giving him the confidence to play freely. “I am very happy to be in this team,” he said. “We have to enjoy every match in the way we did today and try to reproduce this performance.”
For Como, the occasion carried additional weight. This is the club’s first appearance in the Champions League, and Paz stressed that the squad must take in the scale of the moment rather than let it pass them by.
The midfielder was also asked about Ciro Messi, son of Lionel Messi, appearing in a Como shirt. Paz called it an honour that the child of “the best player in history” was wearing the club’s colours, saying it reflected Como’s growing standing after significant improvement over the past three years.
Fàbregas later clarified that the shirt in the social-media image was not Paz’s. The Como coach, a long-time friend of Messi whose family is also close to the Messi family, said he had sent several Como shirts and that the one shown bore “Fàbregas 4”. “I know I do not play any more,” he joked, “but it still has to have some value.”
Paz’s surge has also fed a wider Argentine discussion. In the days after Messi’s international retirement, some in Argentina put the Como player forward as a possible future heir to the No. 10 shirt associated with Messi and Diego Maradona.
Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 8 September 2004, Paz is the son of former Argentina footballer Pablo Paz, who played in Spain for Tenerife and Valladolid. Despite being born in Spain, Nico Paz chose Argentina and is part of the European-based group brought into the national setup under Lionel Scaloni.
His father explained in 2023 that Spain had never called his son, while Argentina offered an opportunity that appealed strongly to him, including the chance to train alongside his idol Messi. Pablo Paz said at the time that he believed Nico would likely stay with Argentina if Spain later approached him, though he insisted the final choice would be his son’s.
Paz has since made that position clear himself. “I was born in Spain and I love both countries, but I chose to represent Argentina,” he said. “It is the country that represents me most, because of the way football is lived there and because of my father. Following in his footsteps is a source of pride.”
