Serie A Analysis · Como
What Changed Before Como Scored Three Times in Eleven Minutes?
Como trailed Torino until the 81st minute, then scored through Jacobo Ramón, Nico Paz and Martin Baturina. Three different routes made the comeback more useful than a one-player rescue.
The first goal arrived after the obvious answer failed
Como spent 80 minutes circling Torino's compact block. They held 72 percent of the ball, took 18 shots and struck the crossbar twice. None of that changed the score. Ché Adams's 24th-minute finish still had the hosts ahead.
Then Nico Paz crossed to the back post and centre-back Jacobo Ramón headed in. Six minutes later, Yan Couto delivered from the right and Paz headed Como in front. In stoppage time, Martin Baturina pressed Nikola Vlašić into the error that produced the third.
Three goals in eleven minutes can look like a fever. The useful part was colder: Como stopped asking one route to solve the match. A back-post target, an attacking midfielder arriving as a finisher and a substitute hunting the next loose touch gave Torino three different decisions after a night spent largely making the same one.
Paz changed jobs instead of demanding every touch
The easy headline belongs to Paz. He assisted the equaliser, scored the winner and had already been the central figure in Como's recent surge. That is accurate. It is not yet an explanation for why the pressure finally became goals.
For Ramón's equaliser, Paz supplied rather than finished. For the winner, he left the creative pocket and attacked Couto's cross. The same player forced Torino to defend two versions of him within six minutes. He did not beat the block by collecting the ball more often. He beat it by changing what the next action required.
That distinction matters for a side built around an exceptional No. 10. Creator-dependence becomes predictable when every possession asks him to receive, turn and invent. Como were more dangerous once Paz could hand the first decision to a teammate and attack the second one himself.
The supporting routes stayed occupied
Couto's width was not decorative. His right-sided delivery made Paz a penalty-box target. Ramón's willingness to remain involved after Como had conceded from his first-half turnover gave the far post another body Torino had to account for. Baturina, introduced in the 58th minute, hit the bar before scoring through pressure rather than another settled attack.
Those actions belong to different phases. One came against a set defence, one from a wide delivery and one from a turnover forced near the box. The variety kept the late push from becoming a queue outside Paz's office, each teammate holding a folder and hoping the lights were still on.
Como also kept enough structure to continue attacking after the equaliser. They did not treat 1-1 as the emotional conclusion to a long night. The next wide route remained available, and the next presser was close enough to punish a loose touch.
Torino earned the right to complicate the verdict
The fairest objection is the first 80 minutes. Torino defended the space around Paz well, led through Adams and still created chances after halftime. Robert Sánchez denied Giovanni Simeone's header and Rafik Belghali's effort while Como chased the game. This was not uninterrupted control finally receiving its proper score.
Nor does a late collapse make every attacking adjustment genius. Torino had worked without the ball, Como had played four matches in ten days, and tired legs can turn a narrow lane into a generous one. Two crossbars also remind us that the final burst included variance as well as design.
Keep the discount. The signal that survives is not that Como will score three late every week. It is that the team found separate finishers and separate routes without abandoning its spacing. Fatigue may widen a door; somebody still has to arrive through it with the right job.
Venezia should see the full job map
Como host Venezia on Sunday after turning a difficult night into another win. The temptation will be to preserve the winning names. Fàbregas should preserve the late relationships instead.
When Paz drops toward the ball, a runner must occupy the far post. When Couto or another wide player receives, Paz must sometimes become the target rather than the supplier. When the first attack breaks down, Baturina or the nearest substitute must be close enough to turn recovery into a chance before the block resets.
The test is visible before another goal arrives. Count how many different players can become the final receiver while Paz remains involved in the move. Torino spent 80 minutes containing one obvious centre of gravity. Como won when that centre started moving other jobs around it.
Keep the signal alive
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