Lens 1-9 Como: result and report

The Pundit picked Lens (36%): wrong

Report

Como won 9-1 at Lens, a result that leaves no doubt about the better side. Still, the margin owes as much to Como's finishing as to the chances they created.

The game was effectively over inside 40 minutes, because Como scored with almost every early attack. He then set up Nico Paz for 3-0 on 40 minutes.

Lens had no way back once the second half started, while Como kept going. Lucas Da Cunha made it 4-0 on 47 minutes from a Paz assist, and Marc Oliver Kempf headed the list of defenders on the scoresheet with the fifth on 53. Douvikas completed his hat-trick on 57, again from Paz, and Mattia Liberali scored the seventh on 62.

Ruben Aguilar pulled one back for Lens on 65 minutes from Florian Thauvin's pass, though it changed nothing. Liberali then created goals for Martin Baturina on 69 minutes and Matteo Papaccioli in the first minute of added time.

The numbers show a dominant performance, but not a nine-goal one. Como finished with 2.93 xG to Lens's 0.90 and created ten big chances to one. They also put 12 shots on target to three. So they created far more than Lens, yet their nine goals were roughly three times what those chances were worth. Lens's goalkeeping made only two saves, which points to how often Como's efforts on target ended in the net.

The one counter-signal is that Lens were not simply pinned back. They recorded more dangerous attacks than Como, 41 to 37, despite trailing so heavily. However, those attacks produced just one big chance, while Como's sustained pressure was more than double Lens's across the match.

Douvikas stood out with three goals and an assist. Paz added a goal and two assists, and Liberali scored once and set up two more.