Serie A: Como 4-1 Udinese – Fabregas inspires 10 vs. 10 victory | OneFootball

Como rose to a 4-1 victory at home to Udinese in the final fixture of the 21st round in Serie A on Sunday night, as Assane Diao got his second goal in his second match, which was followed by strikes from Gabriel Strefezza, Martin Payero, Nico Paz and an own goal from Jaka Bijol.

Diao, who marked his debut with the opening goal in last week’s 2-1 loss to Milan, found the net again on his second Como appearance.

A neat Como move saw the ball played through to Strefezza on the edge of the area, who was able to slip the former Real Betis winger in, at which point he was able to fire past Razvan Sava and into the roof of the net.

COMO, ITALY – JANUARY 20: Assane Diao of Como 1907 celebrates after scoring their team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and Udinese Calcio at Stadio G. Sinigaglia on January 20, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Strefezza made it two five minutes before the half-time interval. Lucas Da Cunha’s looping corner was met by the head of Alberto Dossena, which went backwards towards the onrushing Strefezza, who fired a bobbling effort through the crowded area and into the far corner of the net.

Como had numbers forward and looked as though they might have added a third before the half-time break, but Alieu Fadera lost control on the break and put the ball out for a throw-in in a let-off for Udinese.

Payero halved Udinese’s deficit five minutes after the re-start with a well-taken finish from the edge of the penalty area into the bottom corner of Jean Butez’s net.

10 minutes later, Edoardo Goldaniga was given his marching orders for his second bookable offence of the night. The centre-back took a slightly loose touch on the halfway line before sliding in in an attempt to nick it away from goalscorer Payero, but the referee thought his lunge was excessive and thus sent him off.

The numbers were levelled out again not long after the hour mark, as Oumar Solet stopped Patrick Cutrone from breaking forwards on the counter, which earned him his second yellow card of the evening, and so it went to 10 vs. 10.

Oumar Solet of Udinese Calcio walks off after getting a red card during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and Udinese Calcio at Stadio G. Sinigaglia on January 20, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Como restored their two-goal advantage with 12 minutes of regular time remaining. Aliue Fadera played in a perfect low cross after slipping past Sandi Lovric, which was then turned in by Udinese defender Jaka Bijol. Cutrone was right behind him ready to tap in had the defender not intervened.

Nico Paz, on his return from injury, rounded off an inspiring Como display with a goal on the stroke of the 90th minute. Fadera’s cross was cushioned by Yannik Engelhardt at the back post and sent back in towards Paz, who just had to steer the ball into the net for 4-1.

Tonight’s victory lifts Como out of the relegation zone on 19 points from 20 matches, but they have played one match fewer than all of the teams in the bottom half of the table, and would hypothetically jump all the way up to 13th if they were to win their game in hand.

Udinese, meanwhile remain in 10th place, having missed out on the opportunity to leapfrog Roma into ninth.

Full-time: Como 4-1 Udinese

Diao 5’, Strefezza 44’, Payero 50’, Bijol (OG) 78’, Paz 90′.