Como midfielder Martin Baturina started in the club's first-ever Champions League match on September 11, lining up alongside Nico Paz and Anastasios Douvikas as Fà bregas's side hosted RB Leipzig — and the occasion produced one of the more emphatic debut results European competition has seen in recent memory: Como 4-1 RB Leipzig.
The significance extends well beyond a single scoreline. Como's arrival in the Champions League is the culmination of a project that has moved at a pace few clubs in Italian football have managed, and Baturina, at 23, is central to it. His Serie A numbers through three matches — two goals and an assist, an average match rating of 7.34 — established him as one of the division's more productive midfielders at this early stage of the 2026-27 campaign. The Champions League debut adds a different dimension to that profile entirely.
FÃ bregas, the first coach in Como's history to lead the club in European competition, acknowledged the weight of the moment, describing himself as honoured by the distinction. His midfielder Luis Milla noted that the squad had worked hard to be ready for exactly this kind of test. The 4-1 result against Leipzig suggests the preparation was sound.
For Baturina specifically, the step up to Champions League football arrives at a point where his underlying numbers already suggest a player operating above his age bracket. An AI overall of 74 out of 100, with a potential of 82, positions him as a midfielder with meaningful room still to develop — and European nights, with their compressed schedules and elevated opposition, tend to accelerate that process or expose its limits. Fà bregas, who has spoken about the need to perform every three days across both Serie A and the Champions League, will expect Baturina to carry his domestic form into the continental calendar.
Como's next Champions League fixture is against Feyenoord. After a 4-1 opening, the standard has been set.