Two nights, 18 matches and one scoreline nobody will forget for a while. Matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase was played on November 3 and 4, and it reshuffled the table.
The headline: Lens 1, Como 9
Como, the Italian club coached by Cesc Fàbregas, won 9-1 in France. ESPN reported that seven different players got on the scoresheet. It was the biggest result of the night by a distance and lifted Como into the top four of the league phase.
Liverpool lose in Istanbul
Liverpool led twice at Fenerbahçe and still went home with nothing. Trey Nyoni opened the scoring after 25 minutes before Mason Greenwood equalized four minutes later. Alexander Isak restored the lead on 69 minutes, Archie Brown leveled again on 73, and substitute Vedat Muriqi headed the winner on 79. The 3-2 defeat ended Liverpool’s unbeaten start in the competition.
Tuesday, November 3
- Villarreal 0, Paris Saint-Germain 6
- Atlético Madrid 0, Bayern Munich 2
- Barcelona 3, Aston Villa 0
- Feyenoord 0, Inter 3
- Manchester United 3, Roma 2
- Galatasaray 2, Stuttgart 0
- LASK 4, Slovan Bratislava 0
- Shakhtar Donetsk 0, Sporting CP 1
- Bodø/Glimt 0, Lille 0
Wednesday, November 4
- Lens 1, Como 9
- Fenerbahçe 3, Liverpool 2
- AEK Athens 2, Real Madrid 3, with Madrid’s winner coming in the last minute
- RB Leipzig 2, Manchester City 3
- Slavia Prague 1, Arsenal 2
- Borussia Dortmund 2, Real Betis 1
- Porto 4, Napoli 1
- PSV Eindhoven 1, Club Brugge 2
Away teams had a big week
Look down that list and a pattern jumps out. PSG, Bayern, Inter, Sporting, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal, Club Brugge and Como all won on the road. For Atlético, beaten 2-0 at home by Bayern, and Villarreal, who conceded six, it was a night to forget.
What’s next
Each team plays eight league-phase matches. The top eight go straight to the round of 16, while teams from ninth to 24th go into a play-off round. Matchday 5 is on November 24 and 25.
How the league phase works
This is the third season of the format UEFA introduced in 2024. The old group stage of eight four-team groups was replaced by a single 36-team table. Each club plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away, drawn from different seeding pots, so no two teams have exactly the same schedule. Teams finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated, with no drop into the Europa League as in the old format.
Because everyone sits in one table, goal difference counts across all eight games, and it is the first tiebreaker when teams finish level on points. That makes a result like Como’s worth far more than three points: a plus-eight swing in one night could decide whether they finish in the top eight or have to play an extra round in February.
Why Como’s result is so unusual
Big away wins do happen in the Champions League, but nine goals on the road against a club from one of Europe’s major leagues is extraordinary. ESPN described the result as history-making. For Como, it caps a remarkable rise. The club spent most of the past two decades outside Italy’s top division before returning to Serie A in 2024, backed by wealthy owners and led on the touchline by former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fàbregas, who has built a reputation for attacking football.
Liverpool’s warning signs
Losing away in Istanbul is no disgrace; Turkish crowds are among the loudest in Europe and visiting teams often struggle there. What will concern Liverpool is the pattern. They scored twice, led twice and conceded three goals, with the equalizers coming within minutes of each Liverpool goal. Teams that keep losing control right after scoring often have a problem with concentration or with how they manage the game once they are ahead.
What we think
Nine goals away from home is not a fluke result to explain away. Como have invested heavily and play boldly, and this is the night the rest of Europe will start treating them as a genuine threat rather than a curiosity. Liverpool still have time to secure a top-eight place, but on this evidence they need to get much better at protecting a lead.
