REGGIO EMILIA, Italy — The fairy-tale run for Cesc Fabregas’s Como 1907 hit a major speed bump on Friday night. In a match that exploded into life just before the break, Sassuolo managed to hold off a late Como surge to secure a gritty 2-1 victory at the Mapei Stadium.
The loss is a bitter pill for Como, who missed a golden opportunity to climb into the Serie A top four.
The Two-Minute Meltdown
For 40 minutes, the match was a cagey affair with both sides testing the waters. Then, the floodgates opened. In the 42nd minute, Cristian Volpato broke the deadlock with a brilliant first-time lob over Jean Butez.
Before the traveling Como fans could even process the opener, disaster struck again. Just 105 seconds later, M’Bala Nzola doubled the lead, finishing off a clinical pass from Armand Laurienté.
Paz Gives Hope
Como didn’t head into the dressing room completely defeated. In stoppage time of the first half, the highly-rated Nico Paz pulled one back with a looping header from an Ivan Smolčić cross. It was Paz’s 12th goal of an incredible season, briefly reigniting hope for a second-half comeback.
Resilient Neroverdi
The second half was all about the “Cesc Fabregas effect”—Como dominated possession and threw everything forward. Marc Oliver Kempf and Jacobo Ramon both had late sights of goal, but Sassuolo keeper Stefano Turati stood tall. Despite a barrage of 42 shots (yes, you read that right), the equalizer simply wouldn’t come.
Fabio Grosso’s men held firm, proving once again that the Mapei Stadium remains one of the toughest trips in the league for the top contenders.
