Como Capitalize on Disallowed Equalizer to Claim 3-1 Victory in Florence
Como secured a 3-1 away victory against Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Serie A action on October 18, 2026, lifting Cesc Fabregas’s side past their hosts in the table. The result hinged on a explosive four-minute sequence late in the first half, where Fiorentina had a potential equalizer ruled out by video review directly before the break. The victory shifts Como’s position in the Italian top-flight standings while leaving Fiorentina seeking answers after failing to capitalize on 19 total shots.
The visiting side established control through clinical counter-attacking play and rapid transition movement. Como opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when 19-year-old midfielder Mattia Liberali marked his first Serie A start with a left-footed curling effort into the bottom corner following a pass from Maxence Caqueret. Como doubled their advantage four minutes later, as Álex Valle delivered a cross from the left flank for Nico Paz to head past David de Gea into the top corner in the 36th minute.
Como
clubDefensive Lapses and Delayed VAR Reviews Reshape the Contour of Florence Clash
Fiorentina responded quickly from a set-piece routine in the 42nd minute. After Jacobo Ramón cleared a header by Viery near the goal line, defender Marin Pongracic turned in the loose ball from seven yards out to notch his first Serie A goal. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Pongracic appeared to tie the match at 2-2 when he met Franco Mastantuono’s free kick with a volley at the back post.
However, the goal was ruled out following a four-minute VAR check for offside, a review complicated by a functional issue with the Semi-Automatic Offside Technology system. The goal stood disallowed, preserving Como’s 2-1 advantage going into the interval. Early in the second half, Fiorentina missed a chance to draw level when Alieu Njie ran onto a Nicolò Fagioli pass, rounded goalkeeper Jean Butez, and hit the side-netting of an empty net.
Fiorentina
clubComo extended their lead in the 56th minute after catching the home side overcommitted forward. Nico Paz released Anastasios Douvikas down the right side with a pass, and the forward slotted his finish under De Gea’s legs to make it 3-1. Fiorentina pushed to close the gap, but Njie hit the upright from close range off a Marco Brescianini cross in the 76th minute, while Butez saved late efforts from Fagioli to preserve the two-goal margin.
| Match Statistic | Fiorentina | Como |
|---|---|---|
| Possession % | 47% | 53% |
| Total Shots | 19 | 16 |
| Shots on Target | 7 | 8 |
| Shots off Target | 7 | 5 |
| Blocked Shots | 5 | 3 |
| Corners | 10 | 5 |
| Offsides | 4 | 0 |
| Fouls | 12 | 12 |
- 5′, Yellow Card: Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina)
- 14′, Substitution: Jacobo Ramón replaces injured Trevoh Chalobah (Como)
- 28′, Yellow Card: Álex Valle (Como)
- 32′, Goal: Mattia Liberali, assisted by Maxence Caqueret (Como)
- 36′, Goal: Nico Paz, assisted by Álex Valle (Como)
- 39′, Yellow Card: Nico Paz (Como)
- 42′, Goal: Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina)
- 45+3′, Yellow Card: Jacobo Ramón (Como)
- 46′, Substitution: Kaiki replaces Álex Valle (Como)
- 56′, Goal: Anastasios Douvikas, assisted by Nico Paz (Como)
- 61′, Substitution: Máximo Perrone replaces Anastasios Douvikas (Como)
- 63′, Substitution: Wilfried Gnonto replaces Pedro Gonçalves (Fiorentina)
- 64′, Substitution: Víctor Valdepeñas replaces Viery (Fiorentina)
- 68′, Yellow Card: Cher Ndour (Fiorentina)
- 69′, Substitutions: Marco Brescianini and Dodô replace Franco Mastantuono and Álex Jiménez (Fiorentina)
- 79′, Substitution: Beto replaces Cher Ndour (Fiorentina)
- 83′, Substitutions: Samuele Ricci and Willy Kambwala replace Mattia Liberali and Lucas Da Cunha (Como)
A crucial moment occurred during first-half stoppage time when Marin Pongracic’s potential equalizing volley was overturned. The offside review required four minutes to resolve due to a technical breakdown involving the stadium’s Semi-Automatic Offside Technology (SAOT) hardware, forcing the video match officials to manually review positional angles provided by DAZN Italia and Lega Serie A camera feeds before confirming the offside decision.