Nico Paz sparks Como’s 2-0 win over Lazio in a punchy Serie A opener

A statement win for Como — and for Nico Paz

For the first time since 1951, Como opened a Serie A season with three points, and the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia felt it. A tight, nervy game against Lazio broke open because a 20-year-old took control. Nico Paz didn’t just play well — he decided it, threading the pass for the opener and then bending in a free kick that will be replayed for weeks.

The 2-0 scoreline flattered no one. Como were bold and tidy, and they looked like a team with a clear plan. That’s the part that will please Cesc Fàbregas most. The new manager wanted control, a front-foot mentality, and a midfield that could carry the ball through pressure. He got all of it — with a little stardust on top.

The first half told you this wouldn’t be a smash-and-grab. Como stood up to the physical battle and still found space between Lazio’s lines. Paz was busy from the start, firing over a couple of times and forcing Ivan Provedel into a save. New arrivals Jacobo Ramón and Jesús Rodríguez joined the threats from wide, one shot skewing off target, one header flashing wide of the back post. The best moment before the break came when Mërgim Vojvoda drilled low from the edge of the box, and Provedel’s strong right hand pushed it away.

Lazio, with Maurizio Sarri back on the touchline, never really found the rhythm that usually carries them. Nuno Tavares lashed over. Mattéo Guendouzi offered a tame effort that Jean Butez handled with ease. The visitors kept the ball well enough in safe areas but rarely connected midfield with their forwards. Como’s center-backs held a steady line and stepped in at the right moments, cutting off passes into the feet of the strikers.

After the restart, Lazio tried to raise the pace. Matteo Cancellieri drove wide inside the first minute. It felt like a warning, but Como didn’t blink. Within moments, they broke the game open. Paz received the ball inside his own half, glided past a challenge, and knifed through midfield. Then came the cold-blooded part: a 30-meter ground pass, shaped between defenders like a bowling ball, straight into Tasos Douvikas’ stride. One touch to set, one to finish. Como 1-0, and fully deserved.

There was a scare. Valentín “Taty” Castellanos wheeled away in celebration after bundling home what looked like a quick response. The home end went quiet. A long VAR check followed, the kind that stretches every nerve in the stadium. Offside. Margins, but clear. Como’s lead stood, and the momentum snapped back.

Then came the moment that will end up on every highlight reel. Seventy-second minute. Free kick for Como, right of center, awkward for a left footer. Paz stood over it, shaped his run, and curled the ball into the top right corner. No dip, no doubt. Provedel didn’t move. The stadium shook in that half-second of disbelief before the noise hit. That was the game, right there.

This wasn’t a one-man show, even if the headlines belong to Paz. Como were organized without the ball and neat with it. The press was measured: one trigger when Lazio’s full-backs received facing their own goal, another when Guendouzi checked short. The midfield triangle rotated cleanly, with one pivot staying home and two eights sliding into the half-spaces. Full-backs tucked in when needed and then popped wide to help progression. It looked practiced, not improvised.

The shape worked because the distances were tight. Como rarely left gaps between their lines, which meant Lazio had to play around rather than through. When the ball did reach Castellanos, he was often facing away from goal with a defender tight at his back. That bought time for Como’s wide players to recover and for the midfield to reset. The result: long shots, hopeful crosses, frustration.

Paz’s role was the hinge. He drifted between lines, sometimes dropping to help the build-up, sometimes popping up on the edge of the box. He carried the ball to draw fouls and defenders, and he released it early when space opened. The assist showed the timing; the free kick showed the clean left-foot strike. Across 78 minutes, he completed 32 of 39 passes and picked his moments. For a 20-year-old, his decision-making looked calm.

Como needed that maturity because this has been a whirlwind summer. A promoted club bringing in 12 new faces is a puzzle waiting to go wrong. But you could see the outlines of something stable here. Douvikas’ movement stretched Lazio’s back line. Rodríguez gave balance on the right. Ramón’s early runs forced Lazio’s left side to sit deeper. Vojvoda’s energy from full-back pulled the team up the pitch. And Butez, new between the posts, did the simple things cleanly.

None of it lands without belief. That’s where Fàbregas comes in. He wants the ball, sure, but he also wants control without it. You could see the influence of managers he played under — the insistence on angles for the pass, the five-lane spacing in attack, the sprint to counter-press after losing it. There was no panic when Lazio had a spell of possession. Como kept their shape, waited for the mistake, and then stepped in together.

Context makes this win bigger. Como’s climb back to the top division has taken patience, investment, and steady work behind the scenes. It’s not just about signings; it’s about choosing a way to play and sticking to it. Opening day can be messy. This wasn’t. It felt like a team that trained with a plan and trusted it in the noise.

For Paz, the spotlight comes with layers. Real Madrid chose not to activate an €8 million buy-back this summer, but that doesn’t close the door. Big clubs keep options alive for a reason — development paths aren’t straight lines, and minutes matter more than badges at 20. Regular Serie A football, responsibility, and the chance to decide games will do more for him now than a few late cameos in Madrid. If he keeps putting together performances like this, the phone will ring again.

The international call is already here. Lionel Scaloni has him in Argentina’s squad for the September World Cup qualifiers, a nod to his growth and his ceiling. That step is as much about training standards as it is about minutes. He’ll be in sessions with world-class players, learning how fast decisions need to be at the very top. The free kick today showed he has the technique. The assist showed he reads the game quickly. The rest is consistency.

What can you take from a single match? Not everything, but a few things. Como can play through pressure, and they can carry it when space is tight. The defense held their line, cut out simple balls into the box, and didn’t give up second phases cheaply. Set pieces look like a weapon, not an afterthought. And the team didn’t rattle when VAR made everyone wait. Those are habits you want early.

From Lazio’s side, the issues were familiar: sterile possession, limited service into the forwards, and a press that arrived half a beat late. The back line got pulled around by Douvikas’ runs. Midfielders dropped to help the build-up but sometimes left space behind them. Sarri likes his patterns crisp and quick; this was neither. There’s enough talent in that squad to respond, but they’ll need to find acceleration between the lines and a cleaner final ball. Provedel’s first-half saves kept things close; he had too much to do.

A word on the margins. The offside call on Castellanos changed the emotional weather. Those are the swings you live with now. The check took a while, the stadium fidgeted, and then the flag. Como used the restart well — they slowed the tempo, took the sting out of it, and rebuilt control. Young teams can wobble in moments like that. This one didn’t.

Individual performances beyond Paz helped knit it together. Douvikas was sharp with his movement and ruthless with his finish. Rodríguez kept stretching the right channel to make room inside for the midfield. Vojvoda balanced his runs with the game state, bombing on when Como had a foothold and sitting in when Lazio pushed. The center-backs stayed compact, winning first contacts and, just as importantly, second balls. Butez’s distribution didn’t overreach; he picked the simple pass and reset the rhythm.

If you’re wondering about ceiling versus survival, Como won’t get carried away. The aim after promotion is always the same: clear the danger zone early, then climb. Performances like this help both. They build belief in the dressing room and give a young group proof that the ideas work under pressure. The calendar will get heavy, the legs will tire, and teams will make adjustments. This is a foundation, not a finish line.

Beyond the tactics and narratives, there’s the feeling of the place. The Sinigaglia sits on the water, and when it roars you can feel the sound bounce off the stands. That matters. New teams in the top flight need a home advantage, and Como’s is obvious: tight sightlines, a loud end, and a squad that feeds off it. Nights like this turn a ground into a fortress, one routine, one sprint, one tackle at a time.

Fàbregas’ next challenge is the hardest part of coaching: repetition. Get the same energy next week. Keep the distances tight. Keep the press honest. Keep trusting young players to make the right choices. As opponents adjust to Paz’s drifting and Douvikas’ runs, Como will need new patterns: rotations on the left, third-man runs from deep, and switches that arrive early enough to isolate the weak side. The ideas are there. The craft comes with weeks and reps.

And then there’s the kid at the center of it. Paz won’t play every game like this — no one does — but he has the blend teams crave: balance, touch, vision, and the confidence to try the pass most players don’t see. You can coach shape and timing; you can’t coach that calm half-second before the release. On opening night, in front of a packed home end, he showed he has it.

Fabregas’ blueprint, Lazio’s flat response, and what it means next

Zoom out and the picture is simple. Como looked like a team with a manager’s fingerprints all over them, and Lazio looked like a team working their way back to their best. The gulf wasn’t huge, but it was clear in the moments that decide games. Como’s best player made two; Lazio’s couldn’t make one stick. That’s the story of a 2-0.

For Como, there’s no trophy for opening day, but there is a tone. You could see how the new signings fit together, how the pieces complement rather than clash. You could see why keeping Fàbregas mattered. Continuity on the touchline after a busy summer gave the club a spine to build around. And you could feel the buy-in from a young core who aren’t afraid of the stage.

For Lazio, the lessons are sharper. They’ll need a quicker first pass out of the back to beat presses like this, a cleaner angle into midfield to avoid being funneled wide, and runners who threaten the space behind. The talent is there to fix it. The calendar won’t wait.

Opening nights can lie, but the best ones tell you something real. Como have a plan that fits their players, a coach who trusts it, and a midfielder who can change a game in an instant. On a night that stretched from tense to euphoric, they ticked the boxes that matter — control, resilience, and the touch of class that separates a good start from a memorable one.