Nico Paz matches a Lionel Messi milestone not seen since 2008 in Como’s Champions League debut win

Nico Paz delivered a performance that immediately drew comparisons to Lionel Messi as Como kicked off their first-ever Champions League campaign in style, routing RB Leipzig 4-1 at the newly renovated Stadio Sinigaglia.

According to OptaJoe, Paz’s two assists made him the youngest Argentine to set up multiple goals in a single Champions League match since Messi did the same for Barcelona against Basel in October 2008, when Messi was 21 years and 120 days old.

Paz, at 22 years and two days old, becomes the first Argentine to repeat that feat since Messi accomplished it 18 years ago, though Messi still holds the record as the youngest player ever to do it.

Messi’s last Champions League assist came on November 2, 2022, setting up Kylian Mbappe’s opener in a 2-1 win over Juventus that closed out PSG’s group-stage campaign.

The Argentine finished that tournament with 4 goals and 4 assists in seven appearances, and the round-of-16 elimination to Bayern Munich that followed turned out to be his final Champions League run before his move to Inter Miami closed the book on his European career, a stretch of history Paz now finds his name attached to nearly two decades later.

Como’s debut win goes down in the Italian football history books

Como’s 4-1 rout of RB Leipzig stands as more than just three points to open their maiden Champions League campaign, it’s the widest winning margin ever recorded by an Italian club in a European competition debut.

Martin Baturina got things started before setting up Tasos Douvikas, and Assane Diao and substitute Maxi Perrone rounded out the scoring in the second half, with Andrija Maksimovic’s strike serving as Leipzig’s only reply.

At the end of the match, Nico Paz revealed that his desire to make history with Como was behind his decision to stay in Italy, despite rumors linking him to Real Madrid. “It was for nights like this that I wanted to stay, I knew this is where I would grow the most, and I am really pleased with my decision. I made the right choice,” the Argentine said.