Como 2-1 Parma: Jacobo Ramón and Kaiki keep Fabregas's side unbeaten through four rounds

Four days after beating RB Leipzig on their Champions League debut, Como barely paused for breath. Jacobo Ramón headed — well, turned in — the opener from a Nico Paz corner in the 23rd minute, and although Parma had chances of their own, it took a late goal from full-back Kaiki to put the game out of reach before David Romero's stoppage-time strike made the final score look tighter than the 90 minutes had actually been.

Ramón opens it from a Nico Paz corner

It was a set piece that did the damage. Nico Paz's corner in the 23rd minute found Ramón at the back post, and the centre-back turned it home from close range — the kind of goal Parma's back line never quite got a grip on for the rest of the afternoon.

Kaiki settles it, Romero replies too late

Parma held out for long spells of the second half without ever looking like they would get anything from the game, and the goal that ended their resistance came from an unlikely source. Kaiki, playing at right-back, arrived at the far post in the 83rd minute to finish off a low ball from Máximo Perrone and make it 2-0. Substitute David Romero pulled one back in the second minute of stoppage time, assisted by fellow substitute Pontus Almqvist, but there was no time left for Parma to find a genuine leveller.

A defence that is getting harder to break down

Como controlled the game from start to finish — 64% possession, 28 shots to Parma's 12, and 11 corners to Parma's four — and the win keeps up a pattern from the opening month: they have now scored nine goals and conceded only four across their first four league matches, unbeaten in all of them, outscoring every side they have faced even when the opponent has found a way to score against them, as Parma did through Romero. Cesc Fabregas made just two changes to the side that beat RB Leipzig in midweek, with goalkeeper Sánchez and Kaiki coming in, and the group barely looked like a team playing its second game in four days.

Parma's attack still has almost nothing to show

For Parma, the result extends a much bleaker trend. Before kick-off, the club had scored one goal in three Serie A matches — a form line that put results above pure quality of performance in doubt, and this defeat did nothing to change that picture even with Romero's late consolation on the board. Simone Lontani started again up front as Parma's most advanced outlet, and defender Diego Carlos faced his former club, but neither had the service to trouble a Como side that has now won four matches running across two competitions without much fuss.

Match facts

• 23' — Jacobo Ramón (Como), assisted by Nico Paz
• 83' — Kaiki (Como), assisted by Máximo Perrone
• 90+2' — David Romero (Parma), assisted by Pontus Almqvist

Line-ups

• Como: Sánchez; Ramón, Kempf, Kaiki, Couto; Perrone, Paz, Baturina; Diao, Da Cunha, Kean
• Parma: Corvi; Troilo, Delprato, Diego Carlos; Britschgi, Keita, Sierro, Valeri; Touré, Elphège, Lontani

Where it leaves both clubs

Before this round, Guriball's table had Como 4th with seven points from three matches and Parma 17th with a single point from as many games. The win takes Como to ten points from four games, enough to move above AC Milan's eight and sit just behind Roma and Inter, who both won on matchday 4 to reach 12 apiece. Parma stay deep in the relegation zone, still with only one win to build from and a goal difference that this defeat pushed further into the red.

What's next

Como take the international break unbeaten through four Serie A matches, with Fabregas's side showing no sign of fatigue from their Champions League debut. Parma go into the break with real work to do: a defence that has kept them competitive has not yet been matched by an attack capable of turning performances into points.