The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona has seen its share of upsets, but few will have stung quite like this. Como arrived in Naples as visitors and left as conquerors, their 2-1 victory carved out with cool heads and clinical finishing while Napoli were left to rue a familiar early-season malaise. On a Sunday that promised so much for the hosts, the away side simply wanted it more.

It was a match settled in a frantic seventeen-minute burst either side of the half-hour mark, three goals arriving in a flurry that turned the contest on its head twice over. Napoli hauled themselves level only to be undone almost immediately, and the sight of Como celebrating in front of the home support told the story of a side growing into their ambitions. For Napoli, the questions come early and they come sharply.

This was not a smash-and-grab so much as a statement. Como played with the conviction of a team that believes it belongs, and the scoreline flattered nobody but themselves. Napoli, for all their pedigree, could not find the answer once the game slipped away from them a second time.

Baturina sets the tone

The opening quarter belonged to the visitors, and it was Martin Baturina who made it count. In the 17th minute he collected possession in the centre of the box, shifted onto his left foot and steered a low shot into the bottom right corner. Assane Diao provided the assist, and the composure of the finish silenced a ground that had expected a coronation rather than a contest.

There was nothing fortunate about it. Como had probed and pressed, sensing that Napoli's rhythm was brittle, and Diao's delivery found Baturina in space that should never have been afforded to him. The Croatian did not hesitate, and the lead was the least his side's early enterprise deserved.

For Napoli it was an alarm bell rather than a fatal blow, but it set a tone the hosts spent the rest of the afternoon chasing. Falling behind at home to a promoted-minded outfit was not the script, and the crowd's unease was audible as the game wore on.

Hojlund's fleeting relief

Napoli's response, when it came, carried real quality. In the 30th minute Rasmus Højlund gathered the ball outside the box, took aim and lashed a left-footed drive into the bottom right corner, the finish emphatic enough to lift the roof off the place. Amir Rrahmani supplied the assist, the defender turning provider to haul his side level and, briefly, restore order.

For four minutes the equaliser felt like a turning point. The Maradona roared, the momentum swung, and Napoli looked as though they might kick on and impose themselves on a Como side that had until then dictated terms. Højlund's strike was the sort of moment that ordinarily settles nerves and swings a match decisively one way.

Instead it proved a false dawn. Napoli's celebrations had barely subsided before the visitors struck again, the parity they had fought so hard to reclaim wiped out almost as soon as it had been earned. It was cruel timing, and it exposed a soft underbelly that the hosts will need to address in a hurry.

Douvikas delivers the blow

The decisive moment arrived in the 34th minute, and once more Baturina was at the heart of it. Having scored the opener, he turned creator, threading the ball to Tasos Douvikas, who took a touch in the centre of the box and dispatched a right-footed finish into the bottom right corner. Three goals, all into the same corner, and Como were ahead again.

It was ruthless, opportunistic and thoroughly deserved. Douvikas had lurked with intent all afternoon and pounced the instant Napoli's defence relaxed, punishing a side still basking in the glow of their equaliser. Baturina's second contribution of the day underlined why Como's attack has looked so purposeful in these opening weeks.

From there the visitors managed the game with maturity, absorbing what pressure Napoli could muster and protecting their advantage to the whistle. The hosts pushed but lacked the incision to breach a defence that grew more assured with every passing minute. When the final whistle sounded, it was Como who owned the day.

Table takes shape

The result reshapes the early Serie A picture in striking fashion. Como climb to fourth on four points, unbeaten from their opening two fixtures with a win and a draw, and a place in the top four this early is a marker of genuine intent. Three goals scored and two conceded, they have found a balance and a cutting edge that few would have forecast before the season began.

Napoli, by contrast, slump to 12th on three points, their record now one win and one defeat. Two goals for and two against tells of a side yet to find its footing, and defeat at home to a top-four rival will gnaw at them. Early-season tables can deceive, but no one at the Maradona will take comfort from the numbers on this evidence.

The gap is only a single point, yet the manner of this reverse matters more than the margin. Napoli conceded twice inside 34 minutes and could not summon a second-half rally, a pattern they cannot allow to harden. For Como, momentum is a precious commodity and they now carry it forward with genuine belief.

What comes next will define how these two seasons are remembered. Napoli must respond quickly to arrest any drift, turning frustration into fuel before doubt sets in. Como, meanwhile, will travel onward emboldened, a side proving with each fixture that their place among the early pacesetters is no accident. On this showing, few will relish facing them.