Fiorentina 1-3 Como: Nico Paz sets up two goals in four minutes as the hosts sink to 19th

Como needed four minutes either side of the half-hour to settle this one. Mattia Liberali opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, set up by Maxence Caqueret, and Nico Paz headed in a second from Álex Valle's cross four minutes later. Marin Pongracic pulled one back for Fiorentina just before half-time, but Anastasios Douvikas restored Como's two-goal cushion in the 56th minute, finishing off a move Paz himself started, and the visitors saw out a 1-3 win at the Artemio Franchi.

Nico Paz, in on both of the first two

Paz, 21, came through Real Madrid's academy before a permanent move to Como in 2024 that left Madrid with a buy-back option for 2027-28 — reportedly in the region of €80 million if they ever use it. An Argentina international who has been directly involved in more than 35 goals since arriving in Italy, he set the tone here: his assist for Liberali's opener and his own header four minutes later did the damage inside the first half-hour, and he was still involved when Douvikas made it three, driving the move that ended with the Greek striker's finish.

A club playing two competitions at once

This is Como's first season in European competition, after finishing fourth in Serie A last season under Cesc Fàbregas, and the Champions League fixtures have kept coming on top of the league programme — a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig followed by a 2-3 loss at Feyenoord in their two outings in the group phase so far. None of it has disrupted the Serie A form much: this was Como's third league win in their last five matches, with a loss at Frosinone and a goalless draw at home to Roma the only blemishes in that run.

Fiorentina's season keeps unravelling

For Fiorentina, this is now five defeats in six league matches, with the only points coming from a draw at home to Napoli. The club sacked Fabio Grosso after just three games and three straight defeats in September, rehiring Paolo Vanoli to try to arrest the slide, and results have barely moved since: a win over Venezia, a draw with Napoli and now two losses either side of it. Pongracic's goal before half-time was briefly a way back into the game, but Fiorentina managed only seven shots on target of their own and could not build on it.

Where it leaves the table

Como move up to 5th on 14 points from seven games, their best league position of the season so far, three points off the Champions League places. Fiorentina drop to 19th on 4 points from seven games — one win, one draw, five defeats — inside the relegation zone, with a goal difference of -9 that is now the second-worst in the division. Parma and Monza, both still to play their own matchday-7 fixtures, sit level with Fiorentina on points and could change the exact bottom-table order once those games are done.

Scorers

• 32' — Mattia Liberali (Como), assisted by Maxence Caqueret
• 36' — Nico Paz (Como, header), assisted by Álex Valle
• 42' — Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina)
• 56' — Anastasios Douvikas (Como), assisted by Nico Paz

Match facts

Line-ups

What's next

Como carry their best run of the season into the next round, with a Champions League trip still to come before the month is out. Vanoli, meanwhile, needs a result quickly — Fiorentina have not beaten a team currently above them in the table all season.