Cesc Fabregas has urged his Como players to treat their historic Champions League debut against RB Leipzig on Thursday like any other match, insisting that emotion must not cloud judgement as the Italian club prepares for its first-ever taste of European football.

Como will become the 16th different Italian team to appear in the European Cup/Champions League when Leipzig visit Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. The club, based on the shores of Lake Como, secured a remarkable fourth-place finish in Serie A last season under Fabregas, and have carried that momentum into the current campaign with seven points from their opening three league matches.

But the spotlight now turns to Europe, and the 37-year-old head coach — who played 104 Champions League matches for Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea between 2005 and 2018 without ever lifting the trophy — is determined to keep his squad grounded.

'A game like any other'

"It is a game like any other; we must try to win, just like we do every match," Fabregas told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "I understand the emotions of the city and the club, but we must also do well to remember it is just a football match.

"Leipzig are a great team, and we must view this as an opportunity to keep growing. We want to be at the top, so we'll see how it goes, but we have faith."

Fabregas was also asked whether he would factor Champions League experience into his starting line-up selection, given that several of Como's summer arrivals — including Trevoh Chalobah, Alvaro Morata, Moise Kean, Yan Couto, and Robert Sanchez — have all previously played in the competition. The Spaniard dismissed the idea emphatically.

"I will choose whoever will help me achieve the objective, which is victory," he said. "You've known me for two and a half years now; you realise that experience is of no real interest to me. Just look at what happened [on Tuesday]. We saw players with over 100 Champions League games under their belts, and they made mistakes. So the best choice is whatever helps us to win.

"Look, I understand that the big theme here is that it's the first-ever Como game in the Champions League, but for the players, it has to be a game like all the others."

Kean's Champions League pedigree

One player who could prove instrumental is striker Moise Kean. The Italian forward has only started six Champions League matches in his career, but he has been remarkably efficient in that limited sample, registering five goals and one assist — scoring or assisting in five of those six appearances.

Leipzig's Italian struggles

Como's opponents arrive with a poor record against Italian opposition. RB Leipzig's only two previous Champions League matches against Serie A sides both ended in defeat — a 3-2 loss to Juventus and a 1-0 reverse against Inter during the 2024-25 group stage, a campaign in which they lost seven of their eight league-phase games.

Furthermore, only Viktoria Plzen (19) are currently on a longer ongoing run in the competition without a clean sheet, with Leipzig conceding in each of their last 18 Champions League matches — a statistic that will give Fabregas and his attack-minded squad encouragement.