Tactical Review · Como
Como's Anfield Lesson Is About When, Not Whether, to Build
Como improved after Liverpool's press had already shaped a 2-0 defeat. The lesson before Udinese is to vary the escape earlier, not abandon the team's identity.
The better half arrived after the damage
Como lost 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, the public half of an unusual two-match day between split squads. Cody Gakpo and Jérémy Jacquet scored before halftime. Cesc Fàbregas's side improved after the break, but the useful warning had already been delivered: brave buildup only matters if it survives the opponent's first wave.
The result itself deserves restraint. Liverpool's pressing speed and individual quality create a test more severe than most Serie A opponents can reproduce, while a friendly distributes minutes and priorities differently from a league fixture. Como should not rebuild its principles because a European champion made them uncomfortable in August.
It should examine the timing. The second-half improvement showed Como could find cleaner possession once distances settled and decisions accelerated. Against Udinese on Saturday, waiting for the match to teach that lesson would be expensive. Variation has to appear before pressure turns an opening spell into a scoreboard problem.
Building short is a method, not an oath
Fàbregas wants Como to attract pressure and progress through it. The idea creates advantages because the opponent must commit bodies toward the ball. Yet every extra short pass near goal raises the cost of imprecision. The structure succeeds when the next player receives facing forward, not merely when possession remains technically unbroken.
Liverpool crowded those early exits and made predictable angles feel smaller. Como's response cannot be to kick long without purpose. It can be to place a forward on the far shoulder, invite the press toward one side and use the goalkeeper or center back to access the opposite channel. A direct pass becomes constructive when teammates know where its second ball should land.
That choice also changes the next short sequence. Once an opponent respects the ball over the first line, its press cannot arrive with the same certainty. Como do not betray their identity by forcing defenders to turn twice in ten minutes. They create the room in which their preferred combinations can become more than acts of defiance.
The friendly caveat does not erase the pattern
The strongest defense of Como's performance is persuasive. This was an exhibition against Liverpool, after both clubs had arranged two fixtures on the same day, and the Italians played better in the second half. There is no reason to treat a 2-0 loss as proof that an ambitious Serie A project has reached a ceiling.
But the caveat should refine the lesson rather than dismiss it. Como were not exposed because they tried to play; they were exposed because the early escape options repeated after Liverpool had identified them. The correction is a faster read of what the press is removing. That is exactly the kind of information a demanding friendly is supposed to produce.
The squad's construction carries the same responsibility. Technical defenders and midfielders need runners who stretch the field, while attacking players need to recognize when their job is to secure territory instead of demanding the ball to feet. Talent at each position becomes a system only when the profiles solve different phases of the same problem.
Udinese will test whether the lesson traveled
Saturday's league opener at Udinese will not look like Anfield, and that is why it is a better test of learning. Como may see less relentless pressure but more selective traps, duels around the second ball and longer periods when patience seems available. The team must recognize the instant when patient possession becomes an invitation.
A successful response could be modest: one early direct release that pushes the defensive line back, a midfielder arriving underneath it and the next possession played through a larger field. The objective is not to win a style argument. It is to make every chosen pass serve the state of the match.
Como's improvement on Sunday protected the logic of the project. The first half exposed its next requirement. Attractive football at this level cannot depend on an opponent tiring or relaxing before the solutions arrive. The identity remains worth keeping. Its escape routes need to arrive on time, with every player prepared for the same alternative.
2026-2027 season
Serie A standings
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Inter Milan |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 3 | W |
| 2 |  Napoli |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 | W |
| 3 |  Lecce |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 | W |
| 4 |  AC Milan |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 | W |
| 5 |  Atalanta |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 | W |
| 6 |  Juventus |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 | W |
| 7 |  Cagliari |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 | W |
| 8 |  Como |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | D |
| 9 |  Udinese |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | D |
| 10 |  Roma |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 |  Bologna |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 12 |  Lazio |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 |  Fiorentina |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 14 |  Sassuolo |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | L |
| 15 |  Torino |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | L |
| 16 |  Parma |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | L |
| 17 |  Frosinone |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | L |
| 18 |  Genoa |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | L |
| 19 |  Venezia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | L |
| 20 |  Monza |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 | L |
