Fabregas reassuring to distraught Nico Paz: ‘Messi and Terry missed penalties too’

Cesc Fabregas tried to reassure a distraught Nico Paz, who was in tears after his last-gasp penalty was saved in a 0-0 with 10-man Atalanta. ‘I missed penalties, so did Lionel Messi and John Terry.’

The incident was the dramatic finale to a strange match, as Atalanta were reduced to 10 men in just the eighth minute when Honest Ahanor was sent off for a reaction foul, responding to Maximo Perrone’s provocation.

Giorgio Scalvini’s handling offence was spotted by VAR and a penalty awarded deep into stoppages, but Marco Carnesecchi parried the weak Nico Paz spot-kick.

Fabregas stands by upset Nico Paz

It means Nico Paz has now failed to convert all three penalties in his Serie A career, and the young man was in tears at the final whistle.

“I want to send a message of positivity to our young players,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia.

“I don’t want to kill a young player over a penalty, I am not like that. I missed penalties, so did Leo Messi, so did John Terry.

“We are all with Nico, we are with the young players who have the courage to make a difference. A great champion must always lift his head back up when he hasn’t done well.”

Como had an incredible xG of 5.24 in this game, yet were unable to break down an Atalanta side with 10 men for practically the entire match.

Was it really more of a hindrance than an advantage playing against 10?

“Yes and no,” replied Fabregas.

“If I say that I prefer to play 11 against 11, I might be misunderstood, so I’ll just say that today the ball didn’t want to go in. It happens, this is football, but I also want to congratulate Atalanta, who wouldn’t give in, and played their game.

“Let’s say we were unlucky, but when their goalkeeper makes nine saves, it’s not like I or my assistant can come off the touchline and put the ball in the net. We created nine clear-cut scoring opportunities, so let’s lift our heads and keep going.”

This was a battle between Como in sixth place and Atalanta in seventh, so what are their ambitions for this season?

“The objective this term was to do better than last year, taking it one game at a time. We will always play our game, if we are up against Napoli, Fiorentina, Milan or Juventus.

“We played a lot in recent weeks, and were not accustomed to it, so we’ve got to just keep it going,” concluded Fabregas.