LENS, FRANCE — Como 1907 delivered the most lopsided result of this season's Champions League on Wednesday, thrashing host club RC Lens 9-1 in a Matchday 4 blowout that extended one of European football's most improbable rises, according to UEFA's official results.

The result capped a night of upheaval across the competition. Real Madrid came from behind to beat AEK Athens 3-2, Manchester City won 3-2 at RB Leipzig, Arsenal edged Slavia Praha 2-1, and Porto routed Napoli 4-1. In one of the night's bigger surprises, Fenerbahçe beat Liverpool 3-2 at home despite Liverpool having won all three of its earlier league-phase matches, per UEFA's results.

But nothing matched Como's rout. The club, competing in the Champions League for the first time in its history, piled up nine goals against a Lens side that had taken three points from its first three matches.

FROM SERIE D TO NINE GOALS IN EUROPE

A rise two decades in the making

Como's run is one of modern football's more unlikely stories. The club bounced between Italy's lower divisions for years before returning to Serie A for the first time since 2003 with a promotion in 2024, finishing 10th in its first season back in the top flight, according to the club's own history. A year later, Como qualified for the Champions League for the first time — a milestone it marked in September with a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig on Matchday 1.

Wednesday's result pushes Como well past the points total most observers expected the club to collect all competition — a sign the club's European run is no fluke of a soft draw. Lens, by contrast, now faces a steep climb to escape the bottom of the 36-team league-phase table with two matchdays remaining.

What's next

The Champions League returns in late November for Matchday 5, when Como will look to build on its growing reputation as this season's most entertaining surprise package, while Lens will need a result to keep its knockout-round hopes alive. UEFA's full league-phase table will come into sharper focus as the remaining two matchdays play out before the playoff round begins in February.