There are evenings a club dreams about, and then there are evenings it simply seizes. For Como, this was the latter. On a warm September night beside the water, they did not merely compete on the Champions League stage — they owned it, brushing aside RB Leipzig with a performance of poise, ambition and clinical finishing that ended 4-1 and could have been more.

From the first whistle Como played with the freedom of a side that had nothing to fear and everything to prove. The tempo was theirs, the ideas were theirs, and by the time Máximo Perrone drove home the fourth in the closing seconds, the Giuseppe Sinigaglia was in raptures. Leipzig, for their part, left Lombardy shell-shocked, their European campaign already staring at a reckoning.

This was a statement, delivered without hesitation. Martin Baturina and Nico Paz pulled the strings, the finishing was cold-blooded, and the scoreline flattered nobody in blue and white. Como came into the night hungry; they left it emphatic.

Baturina sets the tone

The opening goal arrived on the quarter-hour and carried the fingerprints of a man in supreme confidence. Martin Baturina found space in the centre of the box and, with a clean swing of his right foot, steered the ball into the bottom-left corner. It was a strike of pure composure, and it settled any nerves that a first Champions League night at home might have carried.

If the first was Baturina's own work, the second was his gift. On 38 minutes he threaded a through ball of exquisite weight, and Tasos Douvikas needed no second invitation, sweeping a right-footed finish into the same bottom-left corner. Two goals, two identical destinations, and a Leipzig defence that already looked as though it had lost its bearings.

Como went in at the interval two clear, and thoroughly deserving of it. Every time they moved forward there was menace; every time Leipzig had the ball there was hesitation. The home crowd sensed something rare was unfolding, and the players fed off every roar.

The rout takes shape

Nine minutes into the second half the contest was effectively over. Nico Paz, who ran the game with a maturity that belied the occasion, slipped in Assane Diao, and the finish was drilled low from the right side of the box into — where else — the bottom-left corner. Three-nil, and Como were purring.

Leipzig did muster a flicker. Four minutes later Andrija Maksimovic collected possession from Christopher Nkunku and lashed a left-footed effort from outside the box into the top-left corner, a goal of genuine quality that briefly threatened to give the visitors a foothold. It was, however, a consolation dressed up as a comeback.

Como never wavered. They absorbed the momentary pushback and simply resumed their control, patient in possession and sharp in transition. The three-goal cushion never looked in real jeopardy, and the hosts always carried the greater threat at the other end. Leipzig's reply, for all its aesthetic merit, changed nothing about the night's direction.

Perrone has the final word

The exclamation mark came in the 90th minute, and it was fitting that Nico Paz should provide it. Another through ball, another perfectly timed run, and this time Máximo Perrone was the beneficiary, sweeping a left-footed finish from the centre of the box into the bottom-left corner. Four goals, and a night that Como supporters will recount for years.

Paz finished with a hand in two of the goals, Baturina in two of his own, and the collective display was one of intelligence as much as flair. Como pressed with discipline, moved with purpose and finished with a ruthlessness that top European sides spend years cultivating. That they produced it on such a stage speaks to the belief coursing through the squad.

For Leipzig, the evening was an unmitigated ordeal. Beaten comprehensively, their organisation shredded time and again, they now sit rooted to the foot of the standings with a mountain to climb. Maksimovic's strike offered a fragment of pride, but little else to cling to.

What it means

The table tells its own story. Como sit fifth on three points, a single victory turned into a statement of intent, with four goals scored and only one conceded. For a club still finding its feet among Europe's elite, a maximum return from their opening night is the kind of platform that can define a campaign. Momentum, belief and a home crowd now roaring behind them — the ingredients are all in place.

RB Leipzig, by contrast, are 32nd, pointless, and already under pressure. A goal difference of minus three after a single fixture is an unforgiving start, and the manner of the defeat will worry them as much as the result. Questions about their resilience and their defensive structure will follow them out of Italy and into their next assignment.

There is a long road ahead in this Champions League, and one night does not decide a season. But Como have shown they belong, and more than that, they have shown they can hurt anyone on their day. Leipzig must regroup quickly, because the margin for error has narrowed dramatically. On the shores of Lake Como, the hosts announced themselves — and the rest of Europe will have taken note.