Fabregas and Como prepare for historic Man Utd tie

“It’s Manchester United. We are only just getting our heads around the fact we are playing Inter, Milan and Juventus.

“This is without doubt the biggest night in the club’s history.”

The words of a Como staff member say it all.

United may not be the force they once were and travel to Italy on the brink of a full-blown crisis after six games without a win, their worst run since 2018-19. But, in terms of global stature, they are immense.

To put this into context, when United savoured the last of their three Champions League triumphs in 2008, Como were a Serie D club, playing in one of nine semi-professional regional leagues, where attendances tend to be measured in their hundreds.

According to chief executive Mirwan Surwaso, it was their status as an amateur club - they returned to Serie D in 2017 after being unable to convince the authorities of their financial wellbeing - which first attracted the London-based media company Sent Entertainment, owned by Indonesian billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono.

When they concluded a deal in 2019, the Hartono brothers were planning a TV project, with the idea of screening matches involving young Indonesian players back home. A visit from Manchester United was not part of the plan.

There cannot be many Champions League stadiums you can walk around and in addition to seeing an iconic tourist attraction. Lake Como is 29 miles long and 2.5 miles wide in some parts - you also come across a yacht club and an ‘Aero Club’ for the sea-planes that take off at regular intervals.

The clubs themselves have been there for a long time. But Como also use their natural surroundings to offer one hour Lake Como tours, followed by ‘pre-match Lakeside hospitality’.

In town - Como’s population is just over 83,000, which means 90% of them could fit in the San Siro Stadium - there is a plush new club shop, selling all kinds of branded merchandise. There was no need for that in Serie D.

“Somehow the team got promoted, we had to go professional, and the plan had to be scrapped,” Surwaso told Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored Podcast this month.

The alternative plan is still being amended substantially.

Initially it was expected this season would be a selling year, when some of the developing talents Como thought they could cash in on would be sold.

Instead, manager Cesc Fabregas steered his squad to fourth place in 2025-26, capitalising on AC Milan’s shock defeat at Cagliari.

It meant in the space of five seasons from Fabregas’ arrival as a player, Como had gone from Serie B to the Champions League. Earlier this week, Lionel Messi’s son Ciro gave Como his seal of approval by being pictured with his dad wearing a replica Como kit. Tangible evidence of a meteoric rise.

“Compared to when I finished my career here, it is completely different,” said Fabregas. “It is not even night and day. It is another world.

“Playing Manchester United is a historic day once again for the club, the city of Como and fanbase.

“When I retired as a player, I coached to get experience. I explained what I thought of the club and my vision and put the plan to work. We are a family here. Even when we lose, fans come and celebrate. We need to be humble and remember who we were because the story of Como will be beautiful, and we will remember it forever.”

The captivating nature of the Como story does bring with it some questions.

In the short term, some wonder how they can possibly comply with Uefa’s financial rules, which European football’s governing body does not intend to amend despite Como’s rise from Serie B.

Surwaso told Morgan: “The scrutiny is on us but we always have our books in order, so we are not too worried.”

The other point, which will become an issue if the forecast heavy rain at kick-off arrives, is that three quarters of the 12,300-capacity Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia is uncovered.

Growing both sides of the club is essential if Como are to maximise their potential.

For Fabregas, whose responsibility is clearly on the playing side, there is a balance to be struck between celebrating the spectacular journey Como have been on, and ensuring his players are not resting on their laurels.

“We were at minus 10 when we started, but we don’t want to spend time thinking about what has passed,” said the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea star.

“If you want to do that, retire and go write a book about what Como did. We must look at what is in front of us.”

While Como now attract thousands to their games, those who followed the club when crowds were in the hundreds remain.

“I had an uncle who supported Como,” said Marco Melillo, an out-of-town fan.

“He showed me the sticker collection, I saw the blue shirt and the blue colours and totally went crazy about it.

“I know in England a lot of people support teams in lower leagues, but that is not so true in Italy, where people support bigger teams. I do not like that that much. I was not really interested in supporting a team that was winning something. I liked the colours. I liked the stadium and when I came here and saw the lake, it was ‘wow’.

“We know the club is in the best situation ever in its history but when I see the faces of the guys and ladies that were also here in Serie D, we just see in our eyes and say, ‘OK, we hope that this story will go on as long as possible, as best as possible, but if it maybe abruptly ended, because in the past we had also some bad things, we know we will be there’.”

Federico Borghi is a local, and despite the weather, came with his huge Como 1907-2007 history book.

“In 2008, I had just started to go to the stadium to attend games,” he said. “Not even in our best dreams could we think of playing Manchester United. I get chills even thinking about it.

“As soon as I entered the stadium for the first time I realised this was going to be my faith. I was there in the bad times and that has strengthened my faith and my relationship with the club.

“The Premier League is my inspiration and to face one of the top three or four biggest clubs in the world, it’s a big honour.”

How England hopeful Acheampong is giving Chelsea a big decision to make

Acheampong has made 52 appearances since his debut for Chelsea in 2024

Chelsea’s academy has been a production line for England defenders, and Josh Acheampong could become the latest to take that step.

Since John Terry broke through in the early 2000s, Chelsea have produced Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori for England, while also developing international centre-backs Andreas Christensen and Nathan Ake.

Acheampong has started six of Chelsea’s past nine matches in all competitions.

Only four players - attackers Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, and defenders Colwill and Maxence Lacroix - have played more than his 581 minutes under new manager Xabi Alonso.

Much of that has stemmed from Alonso settling on a more consistent side.

Chelsea had conceded a league-high 12 goals before the international break but have let in only one since, including recording their first clean sheet of the season away at Everton on Saturday.

Acheampong, 20, has operated as a roaming centre-back in a back three alongside more fixed options Colwill and Lacroix, stepping into midfield or moving wide to perform the role of a traditional full-back when in possession.

He has also developed a promising understanding with right wing-back Pedro Neto, combining with him in the move that led to Joao Pedro’s goal against Bournemouth, while keeping £75m signing Wesley Fofana out of the side.

Alonso has been keen to emphasise Chelsea’s defensive improvement as a collective effort, with the return of Moises Caicedo from injury and his partnership alongside 36-year-old Jordan Henderson adding greater stability.

During a pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, Alonso also hammered home his policy of giving minutes to those who most deserve it, rather than on reputation.

It’s in this environment Acheampong has begun featuring regularly, while also starting eight of England Under-21s’ past 10 matches.

Increasingly, the young defender appears to be knocking on the door of a senior call-up should manager Thomas Tuchel seek a versatile option on the right side of defence.

Acheampong is under contract until 2029, meaning decisions need to be made between now and next summer.

Across recent transfer windows, the defender has been repeatedly linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge, only for sources within Chelsea to insist he was “untouchable”.

That message has remained consistent, although it has occasionally raised eyebrows.

Chelsea seriously explored moves for now-Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen in the summer of 2025 and Liverpool centre-back Jeremy Jacquet in January 2026, who possess similar attributes and are only a year older than Acheampong.

At one stage during the summer Chelsea had 10 senior centre-backs on their books, before ending the transfer window with six.

In a season without European football, there were genuine doubts over how much Acheampong would play. Potential loan moves were explored, including a switch to Crystal Palace.

Palace instead signed Chelsea’s Axel Disasi on loan, with Premier League rules permitting only one domestic loan signing from another top-flight club.

Despite being with Chelsea since Under-8s, Acheampong has come close to leaving on more than one occasion.

In 2023, he did not sign a professional contract on his 17th birthday, which is typically the norm for elite academy prospects. The club’s current ownership later moved to secure his future in January 2024, avoiding the risk of losing him for only a nominal compensation fee.

Twelve months later, Acheampong again appeared to be heading towards the exit in what former manager Enzo Maresca described as a “bad situation”.

Before the conclusion of lengthy and ultimately successful negotiations, the club’s hierarchy withdrew him from selection at both academy and first-team level before he eventually signed a contract until 2029.

That agreement, signed in December 2024, remains the deal he is on today.

Chelsea could face important decisions next summer, when Acheampong, Colwill and Fofana will all enter the final two years of their contracts.

Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo were sold to Como and Tottenham Hotspur respectively this summer after entering the final two years of their deals.

The policy stems in part from lessons learned following Chelsea’s 2022 takeover, when Antonio Rudiger and Christensen departed on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

Those exits triggered a scramble to reinforce the centre of defence, contributing to expensive moves for Fofana and Marc Cucurella.

Acheampong’s recent performances have begun to attract wider recognition among Chelsea supporters and have raised the stakes surrounding his future.

At present, there are no active discussions over a new deal, although the idea of a seven-year contract has been floated previously.

There is caution within Acheampong’s camp about rushing into negotiations until there is clearer evidence that he can become a regular starter at Chelsea.

However, the first-team football provided by Alonso has given the club its strongest chance yet of persuading one of its most promising academy graduates to commit his long-term future.

Why do Man City fans boo pre-match anthems?

Manchester City fans held up literal ‘boos’ during a Champions League game at Sevilla in 2015

The cacophony of boos that greet the Premier League and Champions League anthems before kick-off have now become a fixture at Etihad Stadium.

The jeers from Manchester City fans were turned up a notch against Ipswich last Saturday when the side played their first home game since being found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.

“I can’t remember a Premier League or Champions League home game where the anthems haven’t been booed,” City season-ticket holder Dave Wilson told BBC Sport.

The pre-match dissatisfaction towards top-flight chiefs can likely be traced back to February 2023, when the 115 charges for breaching the rules were first announced.

Later that same year, Everton had 10 points - reduced to six on appeal - deducted after being found to have broken profit and sustainability rules.

In their first game back after the sanction, Toffees fans displayed their ire at Goodison Park by loudly booing the league’s pre-match anthem as well as holding up red cards with the word ‘corrupt’ printed underneath the Premier League logo.

Though City supporters did not organise a similar display, their anger was clear.

“The Premier League anthem has been booed by City fans for many years,” said Wilson. “It was probably heightened on Saturday because it was the first home game since the [guilty verdict] announcement.

“There hasn’t been much love lost between City and the Premier League for a long time. For certain games it will be louder than others, it definitely wasn’t co-ordinated for that [Ipswich] game but a symptom of everything coming together.”

There was audible booing before Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against AEK Athens too.

Everton fans held up cards with the word ‘corrupt’ printed underneath the Premier League logo and booed during the top-flight anthem in November 2023

City fans’ displeasure towards Uefa goes back even further, there being a litany of disputes with Europe’s top brass.

In 2012, Porto were handed a fine of around £17,000 by Uefa after City made a complaint of racial abuse towards striker Mario Balotelli to the organising body.

In that same season, City were given a fine of around £24,000 for being one minute late back on to the pitch for the second half of a game against Sporting.

In 2014, Uefa fined City £49m and capped their squad size for the Champions League after they failed Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

Six years later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) overturned City’s two-year ban from European club competitions after clearing them of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions” - Uefa initially ruled City had committed “serious breaches” of FFP regulations between 2012 and 2016.

Wilson adds: “City fans generally feel there is a conspiracy against them, like the booing of the Uefa anthem too. There is a feeling of being targeted, rightly or wrongly.

“City fans just don’t seem to like the competitions we play in!”

City and their supporters are currently in limbo as they await the outcome of the appeal and any potential sanctions.

The side are currently top of the table having won all seven league games so far and that 100% record will be given a stern examination with a difficult trip to Aston Villa on Saturday (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Nick Clarke is interim chair of The Citizens Trust - Manchester City supporters’ union, a member-led trust that was set up earlier this year at a time when the “potential biggest issue affecting City fans in the club’s history” had transpired.

Though it has been a “difficult time”, fans are “completely behind the team” and he says his job is to ensure their views are heard amid the external noise.

“The booing of the anthem on Saturday was totally organic,” says Clarke. “Whereas the bananas at Liverpool was a fan-led initiative co-ordinated by the 1894 atmosphere group and they did great work handing those out before the game.

“Even though there are fans who are conflicted about what has happened with the club, there is still a general feeling among the majority [of City fans] that the Premier League is not fit for purpose in regulating itself and how it is ran.”

Whatever the outcome of the appeal, City fans are likely to continue making their feelings clear before kick-off.

PSG v Barcelona - Europe's most exciting match-up?

Paris St-Germain v Barcelona - a fixture that could prove to be the most exciting in this season’s Champions League.

The free-scoring teams start match week three as the league phase’s top two, with PSG ahead of Barcelona on goals scored and with no other sides having netted more this term.

PSG were 2-1 winners when they met at this stage last season, with Luis Enrique’s side going on to win a second successive Champions League title, having also beaten Barcelona over two legs in the quarter-finals three seasons ago.

“It will be a fascinating game on Tuesday,” French football expert Julien Laurens told BBC Sport’s Euro Leagues podcast.

Since the start of the 2025 Club World Cup, Barca and PSG rank second and third respectively for most goals scored per match by clubs in Europe’s top five leagues.

Barca have netted 192 times in 68 games at a rate of 2.82 per match, with PSG scoring 154 in 67 games at 2.3 per outing.

Only Bayern Munich rank above both.

Often dubbed the least competitive of the five major European leagues, PSG have dominated French football in recent times.

They have won 12 of the past 14 Ligue 1 titles, including the past five. Three of those five were by nine or more points.

Barca are defending La Liga champions and have won three of the past four titles. Last season they finished eight points clear of arch rivals and runners-up Real Madrid.

PSG became only the second team in the Champions League era to win it in back-to-back seasons, after Real Madrid.

In the past two seasons only Bayern from Europe’s big five leagues can match Barca and PSG for back-to-back titles.

A further look into recent statistics shows the high praise directed at PSG and Barca is warranted.

In expected goals (xG) per league match in Europe’s top five leagues since last season, Barca (2.56) and PSG (2.22) rank second and third respectively. Only Bayern (3.06) are above both.

Barcelona are also second for goals scored and goals scored per match in that time, with PSG sixth and fifth in those metrics respectively.

However, PSG have played fewer league games than Barca, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester City, who are all high performers in those tables.

PSG’s squad depth has allowed them to make wholesale changes frequently in Ligue 1 games and still get results.

They beat Strasbourg 3-1 on Saturday despite making eight changes to the team that won 4-2 in the Champions League three days earlier.

“They’ve earned the right to rest their players,” said European football journalist Raphael Honigstein.

Barca have also added squad depth this season that has led to an increase in attacking firepower.

In 10 of their 11 matches in all competitions this season they have scored three or more goals. In six games they have scored five or more.

“The biggest and most obvious difference is the squad depth that they’ve added through some brilliant signings in the likes of Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi,” said BBC Sport’s Spanish football reporter Elizabeth Conway.

“They’ve brought real pace and directness to the attack, and Gabriel Jesus has given them another option up front. It’s been pivotal.”

At the helm of PSG is Spaniard Luis Enrique, who has plenty of connections with Barca.

Enrique spent the past eight years of his playing career at the Camp Nou between 1996 and 2004, before managing the club’s B team in his first managerial role.

Enrique, 56, spent three years in charge of Barca’s first team between 2014 and 2017 before going on to manage Spain.

As Barca head coach, Enrique won La Liga twice, the Copa del Rey three times and the 2014-15 Champions League title.

Enrique is not alone in swapping Barcelona for the French capital. Forward Ferran Torres made the same move over the summer shortly after scoring the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final.

PSG’s star forward Ousmane Dembele also spent time at Barca before joining PSG.

As well as the collective success of both sides, the individuals starring at PSG and Barcelona are among the world’s best.

Of the top 14 players on the 2025 Ballon d’Or list, eight of them were current players at PSG or Barcelona.

Dembele and team-mate Vitinha finished first and third respectively, with Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal second.

Next Monday’s 2026 Ballon d’Or list is also likely to be a similar story. Of the 30 players listed for the award, 13 play for the two clubs.

Lamine Yamal, who has eight La Liga goals this season, is among the favourites for this year’s award.

“He’s still only 19 and he’s still very much developing,” said Laurens.

“The variety that he has in his game, the dribbling and the skills - just everything that he does is just so, so good now.

“You take him out - [it is] still a very, very good team. Let’s say you put Adeyemi on the right and Gordon on the left, and Raphinha - it’s still a great front three.

“But you put Lamine Yamal in there and suddenly it becomes a phenomenal front three.”

What are the yellow card suspension rules in Champions League?

Arsenal forward Kai Havertz is among the players to have received a yellow card in this season’s Champions League.

In the Champions League, players will receive a one-match ban should they receive four yellow cards.

This rule runs from the start of the league phase until the end of the quarter-finals. After then, all yellow cards are wiped out and players cannot be suspended for multiple yellow cards.

The same rules apply for both the Europa League and the Conference League.

During the opening two rounds of Champions League, five players received two yellow cards, meaning they are entering this week’s third round of matches two cautions away from a one-match ban.

Players can also be suspended if they pick up six, eight or 10 yellow cards. This would also result in a one-match suspension every time a player hits an even number of yellow cards above four.

The five players currently on two yellow cards are: Armando Obispo (PSV Eindhoven), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan), Jan Virgili (Club Brugge), Marlon Gomes (Shakhtar Donetsk) and Serginio Dest (PSV Eindhoven).