Como beat Parma 2-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Sunday, and the margin was settled by a goal from Como defender Kaiki in the 83rd minute — the product of a second half shaped almost entirely by Fàbregas's substitution wave rather than by anything Parma offered in response.
The opener arrived at 23 minutes, Como defender Jacobo Ramón Naveros converting an assist from Nico Paz to give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish. It was a goal that reflected Como's early-season confidence: Fàbregas's side had won away at Napoli and Genoa in their two previous Serie A outings, and the composure with which they moved through Parma's lines suggested a team that had already found its rhythm. Parma, arriving with one point from their opening three league matches, offered little to suggest they could disrupt it.
The match's decisive passage came in the ten minutes between the 80th minute and the final whistle. Como made two substitutions at the 80th mark — Samuele Ricci replacing Paz and Luis Milla coming on for Lucas Da Cunha — and three minutes later Kaiki, the Como defender, converted an assist from Máximo Perrone to make it 2-0. The goal arrived from a player operating in a defensive role, which speaks to the structural depth Fàbregas has built into this side. Parma pulled one back through substitute David Romero in the second minute of added time, assisted by Pontus Almqvist, but the scoreline was already settled.
Kaiki's goal was the winning one, and its context matters. Como had already made five substitutions across the second half — Maxence Caqueret, Jesús Rodríguez, Anastasios Douvikas, Ricci, and Milla all introduced — and the team's shape held firm through each change. That Perrone found Kaiki in a position to score from a defensive starting point is a detail that reflects how fluidly Fàbregas's system absorbs personnel changes without losing its attacking intent.
Parma's problems were structural before they were tactical. Carlos Cuesta García's side came in having scored just once in their opening three Serie A matches, and the attacking options available — El Bilal Touré withdrawn at 55 minutes and Nesta Elphege at 64 — produced nothing of note before their replacements arrived. Romero's goal in added time was a consolation that arrived too late to matter, and the assist from Almqvist, himself a substitute, underlines that Parma's best moments came only when the contest was already decided. A team that has now taken one point from four Serie A matches cannot afford to wait until the 90th minute to find its best combinations.
Como came into this fixture having won two and drawn one across their last three Serie A matches, collecting seven points. Including Sunday's result, that Serie A form now reads three wins from three — nine points, no draws. Parma's trajectory runs in the opposite direction: one draw and two defeats in their last three league outings before Sunday, and that record now extends to one draw and two defeats across the same window with this loss added. The gap in momentum between these two sides was visible from the first whistle.
Como, unbeaten in five across all competitions, are building something that deserves to be taken seriously.