Fabregas: ‘Both proud and angry with Como, Nico Paz learn from Dembele’
Cesc Fabregas cannot decide if he is proud or angry after Como’s 0-0 draw with Napoli, but reveals the advice he gave to Nico Paz about learning from Ousmane Dembele.
Fabregas continues to frustrate his former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, because they met three times this season and all of them were draws, with Como winning the penalty shoot-out in the Coppa Italia quarter-final.
His side had the best earlier chances today with Amir Rrahmani clearing a Tasos Douvikas effort off the line, but late on Matteo Politano was denied by the upright in a goalless stalemate.
Fabregas unsure of Como reaction
Was the coach more happy with the performance or irritated at the result today?
“It depends. In my head, considering who we were a year and a half ago, I can say I am very proud. But then we tried to win today, we didn’t manage it, so in that sense I am angry,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia.
“We tried to be very aggressive, to press Napoli, I saw the team I wanted to see, trying to win the game. Nico Paz, Da Cunha, Perrone were fighting it out in midfield against Lobotka, De Bruyne and McTominay, so that’s something I cannot forget either.”
The other meeting back in November 2025 also ended 0-0, but in that game Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had parried an Alvaro Morata penalty.
This result means that Como could be left further behind Juventus and Roma tomorrow in the race for the top four, as the Bianconeri could go five points clear.
“I sense the constant growth of my players, I am very demanding with them, and when I see performances against Sassuolo, Udinese, Parma, Fiorentina where they don’t give me what I want to see, I don’t forget those.
“Having said that, 95 per cent of the time, they do give me what I want to see. I know where they were a couple of years ago and how they are constantly stepping up, so as a coach it is not just about analysing victory or defeat, there are hours and hours of invisible work.
“In that sense, we should be happy that Como are challenging for important positions the year after returning to Serie A, having been out of the top flight for 21 years.”
Nico Paz is widely expected to return to Real Madrid, who have a buy-back clause, but Fabregas seemed far from certain the Argentina international would leave Como this summer.
“Are you so sure? This is not the moment to talk about the future. We are building something here, we’ve seen so much progress and want to keep working together.”
It was noted that Nico Paz showed improvement in his work rate today, tracking back to help the defence.
“In modern football, it is total football, you must be able to do everything,” noted Fabregas.
“I had the opportunity to be in Paris the other day for the Champions League semi-final and I saw that Dembele was man-marking Pavlovic, a Ballon d’Or player was doing that. If a Ballon d’Or can do that, so can everyone.
“I think this style of football can be adapted to my squad and what we want to do with a very young squad.”
That incredible game saw PSG beat Bayern Munich 5-4, so have Como also picked up some tricks like kicking the ball straight into touch to start building from the back?
“If you’ve been following Como, you will know we’ve done that before, even if it is a little different,” smiled Fabregas.
“You want to create a situation where they can be forced into errors. We don’t do it exactly like them, but we might do in future.”