Nine goals. That was the number Como put past RC Lens on Wednesday night, a 9-1 win at Stade Bollaert-Delelis that walfoot.be called the most spectacular performance of the fourth matchday of the UEFA Champions League phase. Greek forward Anastasios Douvikas scored a hat-trick, and RTBF noted the result stands as the heaviest defeat ever suffered by a French club in the competition and the largest away victory in its history.

Lens, who had hoped for a celebration in front of their home supporters, were already 3-0 down at halftime. Douvikas opened the scoring with two first-half goals and set up Nico Paz for the third, RTBF reported. The rout continued after the break: Da Cunha, Kempf and Douvikas’s third made it 6-0, Liberali scored a seventh, Ruben Aguilar pulled one back for Lens in the 65th minute, and Baturina and Papaccioli added an eighth and ninth to seal the 9-1 final score. La Libre reported that the scoreline left Lens 33rd in the league-phase standings, on a third defeat and far from the playoff places.

Real Madrid Survive in Athens With a 92nd-Minute Valverde Strike

The evening’s other early kickoff produced a late twist. Real Madrid, twice behind against AEK Athens, won 3-2 thanks to a stoppage-time goal from captain Federico Valverde, who came on in the second half and struck in the 92nd minute, La Libre reported. Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé had also scored for the visitors; Koita, a former Sint-Truiden and Gent player, had opened the scoring for the Greek side. The win was Real’s fourth in four league-phase matches, leveling them with PSG on 12 points and second place, according to La Libre.

Liverpool, playing in the same early window, lost 3-2 at Fenerbahçe in Istanbul. Trey Nyoni and Alexander Isak scored for the visitors, but Mason Greenwood, Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi replied for the Turkish side, walfoot.be reported. La Libre noted Liverpool had led twice before being overturned.

Late Winners Settle Dortmund-Betis, Porto Sink Napoli, City Edge Leipzig

In the 21:00 kickoffs, Borussia Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 with a late winner from substitute Konstantinos Karetsas, assisted by Fabio Silva, walfoot.be reported. Both Dortmund and Betis now have three wins in the competition, La Libre added.

FC Porto recorded its first Champions League victory of the season with a 4-1 win over Napoli, Kevin De Bruyne playing the full match, walfoot.be reported. The result moved Porto to 26th and left Napoli 27th with three defeats, according to La Libre. Manchester City also needed a fight, beating RB Leipzig 3-2 with Erling Haaland coming off the bench, which La Libre said returned City to seventh place, just ahead of eighth-placed Liverpool, in the directly qualifying top eight.

Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Prague, with first-half goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres moving the Premier League champions to third place, La Libre reported. Viking Stavanger beat Azerbaijan’s Sabah 4-1 to climb to 22nd, and Club Brugge defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-1 to sit ninth with three wins in four matches, the same outlet added.

Douvikas Now the Competition’s Top Scorer

Douvikas’s hat-trick took him to six goals in the league phase, making him the competition’s leading scorer, La Libre reported. Como’s win moved the Italian side to fourth place, within sight of the podium positions occupied by PSG and Real Madrid.

The Butez Connection: A Lille-Born Keeper Returns to France

DHnet added a personal dimension to the Lens match. Como goalkeeper Jean Butez, born in Lille, had never played an official match on French soil since turning professional in 2016, having left his formative club Lille for Mouscron, Antwerp and then Como. The 31-year-old was called up by France coach Zinédine Zidane in September, and DHnet noted that in the winter 2025 transfer window he had been close to joining Lens before the club instead signed Robin Risser. Butez told reporters ahead of the match that he was born not far from Lens and grew up in Lille, but insisted the rivalry meant nothing to him as a Como player.

What the Results Mean for the League Phase

With four of eight league-phase matchdays played, the standings picture is sorting quickly. PSG and Real Madrid share 12 points at the top, Arsenal sit third, Como fourth. The English clubs are repositioning after Wednesday: City back inside the automatic qualification zone, Arsenal on the podium. Lens, meanwhile, are winless in three and 33rd, needing a dramatic turnaround to reach even the playoff places. Porto’s win over Napoli gave the Portuguese their first three points of the campaign but left both teams outside the playoff picture.

Questions Readers Are Asking

• Has a French club ever lost by a bigger margin in the Champions League? No, according to RTBF. The 9-1 defeat is the heaviest ever suffered by a French club in the competition, and Como’s nine goals also set the record for the largest away win in the tournament’s history.
• Who scored Como’s nine goals? Douvikas netted a hat-trick and assisted Nico Paz; Da Cunha, Kempf, Liberali, Baturina and Papaccioli scored the others, while Ruben Aguilar scored Lens’s only goal in the 65th minute, RTBF reported.
• Why was the match significant for Como’s goalkeeper? Jean Butez, born in Lille, had never played an official match in France since turning professional in 2016; DHnet reported he was called up by France in September and had nearly joined Lens in the winter 2025 transfer window.
• Where do the teams stand after matchday four? PSG and Real Madrid lead on 12 points, with Arsenal third, Como fourth, Manchester City seventh and Liverpool eighth; Lens are 33rd after three straight defeats, La Libre reported.

The league phase now moves toward its fifth of eight matchdays, with the top eight after all fixtures qualifying directly for the round of 16 and places nine through 24 entering a playoff round. For Lens, the task is now to stop the slide after a third consecutive defeat; for Como, the 9-1 under Cesc Fàbrega is a record away win in the competition.