RC Lens lost 9-1 to Como at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Wednesday night, a result that stands as the worst defeat in the club’s modern history and the heaviest ever suffered by a French team in European competition, SO FOOT.com reported. The margin eclipses the previous post-war low for Les Sang et Or, a seven-goal loss to Guingamp in Ligue 2 in 2013, and it surpasses Brest’s 0-7 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in 2025 as the largest losing margin for a French club in Europe.

Lens became the first team to concede nine goals at home in the history of the UEFA Champions League. The last club to do so was Olympiacos Nicosia, beaten 0-9 by Feyenoord in 1971. It was also the second time Lens has shipped nine goals in its history; Marseille inflicted a 9-1 defeat on the club in April 1940, before the war.

How Como dismantled Lens at Bollaert

Instead, the Italians — managed by Cesc Fabregas — took control with overwhelming technical superiority, scoring nine times while Lens managed only one goal, a Ruben Aguilar volley that made it 1-7 in the 65th minute.

The atmosphere at Bollaert turned as the goals mounted. After Como’s sixth, sections of the crowd began chanting “Olé, Olé” at the home players, and the stadium started emptying before the final whistle, franceinfo reported.

Como’s dominance was total: according to Opta, as cited by SO FOOT.com, Como became the first team in Champions League history to have eleven different players involved in at least one goal in a single match.

The records the 9-1 defeat rewrote

Since Strasbourg conceded ten goals to MTK Budapest in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in October 1961, no French team — and no team from any of Europe’s top five leagues — had conceded nine goals in a European match, SO FOOT.com reported.

In the Champions League itself, the previous largest winning margin in the group or league phase was Real Madrid’s 8-0 over Malmö in 2016. Real Madrid had also beaten Sevilla 8-0 in a 1958 quarterfinal, and Liverpool routed Besiktas 8-0 in the 2007-08 campaign, but nothing at that scale had happened in the modern league format until Wednesday.

Monaco’s 1-4 loss to Leipzig in 2017 had seen a French club concede four goals in one half of a European tie; Lens never even reached that figure in a single period on Wednesday, staying at three, SO FOOT.com noted.

Paz dismisses easy win claims

Como captain Nico Paz, who scored once and provided two assists, rejected any suggestion the win came easily. Speaking to Canal+, as reported by DAZN, the Argentina international said: “Easy? Never. We played very well.”

Como sits fourth in the Champions League table with nine points after four matchdays, ahead of Barcelona and Manchester City on goal difference, DAZN reported. The Serie A side’s next fixture is against Inter Milan.

Reactions in France: “It’s not a defeat, it’s a lesson”

Lens midfielder Michaël Cuisance, speaking to Canal+ after the match as reported by franceinfo, framed the result as a test of character: “It’s not a defeat, it’s a lesson.”

On RMC Sport, as reported by Foot Mercato, commentator Daniel Riolo said: “The rule with our clubs is that things don’t go well. The exception was Lille or Brest two or three years ago… The humiliations, we’re used to them. Our rule is to be rubbish in Europe.”

What the defeat means for Lens’s Champions League campaign

It was Lens’s third defeat in the competition, but franceinfo noted the result does not mathematically end the club’s hopes of reaching the knockout phase. Still, the remaining schedule offers little comfort: Lens still faces RB Leipzig, Bodo/Glimt, Manchester City and Liverpool in the league phase.

The immediate next test comes in domestic football, with Lens hosting Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday — a derby that will demand a response after the European night.

Lens’ historic goal-margin defeats compared

Since the post-war era, Lens had never lost by more than seven goals; that margin came against Guingamp in Ligue 2 in 2013, SO FOOT.com reported. The only nine-goal defeat in the club’s history before Wednesday was the 9-1 loss to Marseille in April 1940.

Yes — Olympiacos Nicosia lost 0-9 to Feyenoord at home in 1971. Lens is the second team to do so, and the first French club, SO FOOT.com reported.

Real Madrid’s 8-0 over Malmö in 2016 in the group/league phase; Real Madrid also beat Sevilla 8-0 in a 1958 quarterfinal, and Liverpool beat Besiktas 8-0 in 2007-08.

Lens hosts Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday, then continues its Champions League campaign against RB Leipzig, Bodo/Glimt, Manchester City and Liverpool, franceinfo reported.