“The future of Real Madrid is Nico Paz,” declared Carlo Ancelotti during his traditional intervention on ‘Radio anch’io sport’. The Spanish-Argentinian player did not disappoint, leading Como to a 2-0 win over Lecce.
This crucial victory against a direct rival allows Cesc Fàbregas’ team, which started with Pepe Reina, Alberto Moreno and Nico Paz (Sergi Roberto on the bench), to finish the year in fifteenth place with 18 points, four above the relegation zone. Not bad for a recently promoted team.
Como had a luxury spectator in Dele Alli in the stands and pushed forward from the start. It took Patrick Cutrone less than five minutes to hit the crossbar from outside the box.
Cutrone and Nico Paz engineered what could have been the opening goal in the 29th minute. The former Real Madrid player struck from outside the area, but Falcone turned it away in desperation, and Baschirotto brought down Cutrone when he was ready to score into an empty goal. The Spanish-Argentinian took responsibility from the penalty spot… but Falcone stopped his shot – which was straight in the middle – with his feet.
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Rather than let this failure discourage him, Nico Paz continued to push. Falcone managed to keep away a left-footed strike from the Tenerife native in the 37th minute and saved a free kick in first-half injury time.
Como didn’t give up. They continued searching after the break. Cutrone narrowly missed a header from an Alberto Moreno cross in the 47th minute. Finally, in the 49th minute, the breakthrough came. Cutrone crossed, and Nico Paz, without stopping the ball, scored with a left-footed shot which hit the post before finding the net. He now has three goals and four assists in Serie A this season. He celebrated with a message, appearing to say, “I am here,” while pointing toward the field. The missed penalty was forgotten.
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Instead of settling for just one goal, Como looked for a second. Cutrone had a goal disallowed for offside in the 55th minute and saw a header bounce off the post in the 57th minute. To top it all off, Coulibaly cleared a Strefezza shot off the line.
Finally, Cutrone made it 2-0 in the 79th minute. The former Valencia player legitimately found the net, taking advantage of a rebound from Falcone after a shot from Van der Brempt to easily score a goal. Cesc Fàbregas breathed a sigh of relief, even having the luxury of bringing Nico Paz off before the final whistle.
