Fàbregas outwits Gasperini to take controversial Como a step closer to Champions League | Nicky Bandini

Lake Como’s celebrity terraces were missing Hollywood royalty on Saturday, yet the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia still attracted calcio royalty as Italy head-coach Gennaro Gattuso took a front-row seat for the most tactically charged duel of the Serie A weekend. The brief was simple: fourth-placed Como versus fourth-placed Roma, the winner moving within realistic sight of Champions League qualification.

What followed was a master-class from Cesc Fàbregas, the 37-year-old rookie coach whose side have become the league’s great provocateurs, outmanoeuvring Gian Piero Gasperini’s seasoned Giallorossi in a 2-1 victory that felt both deserved and, to many neutrals, deeply irritating.

Roma began in classic Gasperini fashion, hunting man-to-man and forcing an early breakthrough when Stephan El Shaarawy pick-pocketed Sergi Roberto and drew a penalty converted by Dutch forward Donyell Malen. It could have destabilised Como; instead it crystallised their intent. Martin Baturina and Maxence Caqueret probed through Roma’s press, while right-sided centre-back Jacobo Ramón repeatedly surged into attack, nearly capping one foray by kneeing a cross against the post.

The hosts, promoted from Serie D only seven years ago, have spent more than €200 million since 2024 under Indonesian billionaire owners the Hartono brothers. Critics cite the outlay and the scarcity of Italian regulars—centre-back Edoardo Goldaniga and third-choice goalkeeper Mauro Vigorito have managed one league minute between them—as evidence of artificial acceleration. Fàbregas counters that elite domestic talent is already hoarded by Inter and Juventus, and that Como’s academy is being primed for the long term.

Half-time brought the tactical pivot. Off went Roberto and defender Marc-Oliver Kempf; on came winger Assane Diao and striker Tasos Douvikas. Within 14 minutes Douvikas glided behind the Roma line to equalise, and five minutes later the visitors were reduced to ten when Wesley earned a second yellow for an innocuous-looking tangle with Diao. Gasperini fumed; Fàbregas sensed blood.

With Roma still weary from Thursday’s Europa League trip to Bologna, Como poured forward. In the 79th minute Ivan Smolcic’s drive was parried by Mile Svilar and Brazilian defender Diego Carlos slammed in the rebound, completing a turnaround that lifts Como three points clear of Roma and back above Juventus with nine rounds remaining.

Gasperini left the pitch without the customary handshake, later declaring he “doesn’t respect the way they behave on the pitch or on the bench.” Fàbregas, diplomatic yet pointed, labelled the snub “a matter of sportsmanship and respect.”

Como’s rise is not universally popular, but it is increasingly irresistible. A first-ever European qualification is now theirs to lose, and the coach many expect to one day take charge of Arsenal, Barcelona or Chelsea has taken another audacious stride toward the sport’s summit—starting beside the tranquil waters of Lake Como.