Fabregas admires Como ‘maturity’ and was surprised by Lecce 3-man defence gamble

COMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 28: Como 1907 coach Cesc Fabregas looks o during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and US Lecce at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on February 28, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Cesc Fabregas congratulated Como for showing ‘maturity’ as they fought back from an early surprise to beat Lecce 3-1 and keep up the pressure for a Champions League spot.

They had initially been shocked on home turf by the Lecce change of system to 3-5-2, as well as the Lassana Coulibaly free header.

However, the Lariani had turned the game around by half-time thanks to Tasos Douvikas, Jesus Rodriguez and Marc Oliver Kempf goals.

Fabregas sees Como step up to next level

“These are three important points for us, we show consistency after the strong performances against Milan and Juventus,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia.

“I want to congratulate the team for their maturity. This is a strong squad that will deliver in the long run.”

Como are by no means a surprise at this point, despite the fact they only earned promotion into Serie A in 2024.

“This is a journey, there will be ups and downs. We are trying to create a sense of continuity of success, the more we play together, the better we get. This is a team that continues to improve.

“I told the lads, I am calm, because I know you can recognise your mistakes and raise the bar. This is an intelligent group of players, when they get something wrong once, they don’t do it again.”

Fabregas admits he was also taken by surprise going into this game, as Lecce coach Eusebio Di Francesco pulled the rug out from under him.

“It was not a simple match at all. Lecce always play the same way, but today they had three centre-backs, which they never do. We had prepared for a four-man defence, but we won it down the left, where they were slow to cover the gap and were left one on one. We had the right pressing and transition timing.”

There was more good news for Como in the final minutes, as Assane Diao made his comeback after knee surgery, but Alvaro Morata and Kempf had knocks.

“Diao did in a few minutes what we had been missing so much in recent months, so we hope he can get back to full fitness soon. Kempf has a little problem with his hip, we need to evaluate it, but nothing serious,” concluded Fabregas.

“We’re not sure what is wrong with Morata.”

Now they prepare for Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg against Inter.