There were tears after a nonsensical draw with Atalanta but young possession-based team is heading places
F
or the second time in less than three weeks, Cesc Fàbregas found himself standing in front of the TV cameras, trying to explain a scoreline that made no sense. “It’s not normal,” he had insisted last month, after Como lost 3-1 to Milan despite “making 700 passes to their 200” (659 to 320, actually, but who’s counting?). Yet there was more than a hint of deja vu on Sunday as his team drew 0-0 at home to Atalanta while holding 79% of possession and attempting 28 shots.
Opta put Como on 5.24 expected goals – the second-highest figure accrued by any Serie A team in a shut-out since the analytics company started tracking such data 15 years ago. An astonishing number, against opponents who finished third in Serie A last season and who had taken 13 points from their previous five games.
Sunday’s match was shaped by an eighth-minute red card for Atalanta’s Honest Ahanor, who appeared to throw a hand at the face of Máximo Perrone after an off-the-ball exchange. The Argentinian made the most of the contact, but such lapses of judgment are rarely excused in this era of VAR.
