Fabregas Admits He Underestimated Matic as Como Beat Sassuolo 2-0 to Back Up Manchester United Scalp
Como followed up their stunning 4-1 Champions League demolition of Manchester United with a controlled 2-0 Serie A win over Sassuolo, and coach Cesc Fabregas admitted afterwards that the game turned on a half-time tactical rethink aimed squarely at one man: Nemanja Matic.
Half-time switch targets Matic
A goalless first half left Fabregas frustrated, and he responded by making three changes at the break designed to disrupt his former Chelsea teammate.
"We changed a few things during the break, as I think I had underestimated the quality of Matic, just as I did last season when we lost to Sassuolo," Fabregas told DAZN Italia.
The Como coach was explicit about the plan: "Matic needs to be pressed constantly for the whole match. We cannot let him play. After that, we started to play better, and they lost both confidence and control. We were lacking something in that first half, so I really liked the reaction."
The two men shared a warm embrace and a joke after the final whistle. Asked what he said to Matic, Fabregas replied: "He is my friend, I told him sorry, but we had to press you, otherwise you'd be running the game. He replied: 'Remember you played your best football with me!'"
Douvikas delivers again off the bench
Despite heavy squad rotation — with Nico Paz left on the bench for the entire match — Tasos Douvikas still came off the bench to snatch another two goals and settle the contest.
Fabregas framed the rotation as a deliberate part of building a deeper squad. "We cannot always go at full speed, but if we want to be this team, then we've got to find the energy from somewhere," he said. "That is only possible if the coach trusts every member of the squad, knowing he can change and give everyone an opportunity. There are thousands of moments in a season, we are learning every day and the team is going through a growth process."
Maturity in balancing Europe and Serie A
The Lariani have struggled this season to match the highs of Champions League nights with focused performances in the Serie A fixtures that follow. Following up the 4-1 win over Manchester United — a result Italian papers labelled historic, with Nico Paz scoring twice — with a comfortable league victory is being viewed as a significant step forward in maturity.
The pressure does not let up for Como, who face a Serie A midweek round away to Torino on Tuesday evening.
"Sassuolo had eight days to prepare for this match, now we've got Torino coming up, who played yesterday and have 24 hours of added rest," Fabregas noted. "This is a big difference this season and we're still getting used to it."