Beyond Nico Paz: How Fàbregas Is Learning to Use Como’s Whole Squad

When Nico Paz remained on the bench against Sassuolo, Como gained something alongside the three points: a little more confidence that an afternoon without him could work. Maxence Caqueret supplied the breakthrough, Kaiki created the second goal, and Tasos Douvikas finished both. Nico could save his legs for another day.

Ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Torino, that feels more useful to discuss than a predicted XI. Como are discovering which players can share responsibility through a crowded season, and how much adjustment that requires. Some of the answers are encouraging. Others remain incomplete, particularly with several attacking options unavailable.

Looking through the opening eight Serie A games and three Champions League matches, the pattern is uneven. Midfield rotation was established early. Opportunities elsewhere have often followed injuries, while a handful of players continue to carry a substantial load.

Fàbregas has explained why this matters

After Sassuolo, Fàbregas linked the energy needed to play Como’s football directly to the coach’s willingness to trust his squad. Speaking to DAZN, in comments reported by Tuttomercatoweb, he argued that changing players and giving opportunities were necessary to sustain the team through repeated short turnarounds.

That is a significant admission of responsibility. Players cannot demonstrate that they are dependable alternatives if their opportunities consist entirely of a few minutes at the end of matches. Equally, a coach cannot assume that a changed side will reproduce every familiar connection immediately.

Fàbregas also acknowledged a specific mistake against Sassuolo: Como had allowed Nemanja Matić too much freedom. Improving the pressure on him helped change the second half. The substitutions mattered, but so did clearer instructions about how the team needed to play.

That distinction protects us from an easy conclusion about rotation. A difficult first half does not automatically mean the reserves are inadequate; sometimes the collective approach needs correcting too.

The midfield has been sharing the work for months

Luis Milla’s Tattico match log illustrates how fluid the hierarchy already is. He played 90 minutes at Udinese and Napoli, then ten apiece against Genoa and Parma. He returned to the starting side at Frosinone, appeared for just two minutes against Roma, played the full match in Florence and came on at half-time against Sassuolo.

Across eight league games, that amounts to four starts, four substitute appearances and 410 minutes. Calling him a bench player would conceal how important he is to the rotation.

Máximo Perrone has moved in the opposite direction at several points: full games against Genoa and Parma, a substitute appearance at Frosinone, a start against Roma, then 29 minutes in Florence before returning to the XI against Sassuolo. His match-by-match numbers show that sharing starts has been normal in this department.

The European matches reinforce the point. Perrone came off the bench to score against Leipzig, then started against Feyenoord and Manchester United. Those are different assignments for an important player, rather than evidence of someone moving permanently in or out of favour.

Lucas Da Cunha’s recent move into a more advanced wide role adds another complication. His versatility helps cover the attacking absences, but it also removes one familiar option from the deeper midfield combination. Squad depth depends partly on how many jobs the available players can do, and partly on what happens elsewhere when they change jobs.

Caqueret’s opportunity has become a proper role

Caqueret’s league record provides the clearest example of a player moving beyond occasional involvement. His first four appearances lasted one, 32, 24 and 35 minutes. He did not play at Frosinone. That left him with 92 minutes through five rounds.

Since then, he has started against Roma, Fiorentina and Sassuolo, playing 66, 90 and 90 minutes. His total is now 338, with two assists and 11 key passes. Eight of those key passes came in the last two matches, four in each.

These are useful contributions over substantial stretches of football. They also help explain why leaving Nico unused on Saturday was possible. Como had another player creating chances, rather than merely occupying the position until the usual starter arrived.

The sample remains small, but the progression is meaningful. Caqueret has received longer opportunities and supplied enough to make the next selection decision more interesting. That is exactly how a squad becomes deeper during a season.

Kaiki offers more than cover for Valle

Kaiki’s minutes tell a similar story with a different rhythm. He did not feature at Udinese or Genoa, played nine minutes at Napoli, then started and scored against Parma. Further opportunities followed: 17 minutes at Frosinone, the full match against Roma, 44 minutes in Florence and another full game against Sassuolo.

His Serie A totals stand at 340 minutes, one goal and one assist. The Champions League provides another contribution outside those figures: he came off the bench against United and supplied Ramón’s header. His assist against Sassuolo followed three days later, this time from a starting position.

Fàbregas has spoken about the Brazilian adapting to his first move abroad, with Yan Couto helping him settle. In his post-Sassuolo comments, the coach expressed satisfaction with the competition between his two left-backs.

That competition gives Como genuine flexibility. Kaiki has contributed both when selected from the beginning and when introduced into an existing game. Those are separate demands, and he is beginning to answer both.

A short appearance is not the same as preparation for a start

Samuele Ricci’s situation deserves patience. Before Sassuolo, his league involvement amounted to ten minutes against Genoa, ten against Parma, 44 at Frosinone and seven in Florence. His first start brought another 45 minutes before Milla replaced him, taking his league total to 116.

Before that opportunity, Fàbregas had praised Ricci’s training, humility and attitude while waiting, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb. Afterwards, he asked for patience with both Ricci and Kambwala following their first starts for the club.

Being withdrawn at half-time is disappointing for any player. It does not establish that he cannot become a reliable starter. The challenge for Fàbregas is to keep giving these players enough meaningful football to improve their understanding with teammates, while still making the changes a particular match requires.

Mattia Liberali shows how suddenly an opportunity can arrive. He had played only 25 league minutes, spread across Udinese and Genoa, before his start at Fiorentina. In 83 minutes there, Tattico records a goal, four shots and five tackles. One match does not settle his place in the team, but it demonstrates why the players waiting behind the regulars need to remain involved.

Ramón’s rest keeps getting interrupted

The defensive workload is less evenly shared. Ramón played every league minute through the first six rounds. He began on the bench in Florence, but Chalobah’s injury brought him on early; against Sassuolo, his afternoon off lasted until half-time.

His 661 Serie A minutes represent almost 92% of the available 720, before adding European football. Across the last two league games he has been a substitute twice and still played 121 minutes. The team sheet alone would give a misleading impression of how much rest he received.

There are useful contributions elsewhere. Smolčić played all 90 minutes in Florence and another 23 against Sassuolo, taking his league total to 146. These appearances matter even without a goal or assist: they give Fàbregas a way to manage the right side of the defence. But Chalobah’s absence leaves less freedom to distribute the central workload as planned.

Douvikas is scoring, but still needs an alternative

The striker position remains the sharpest concern. Douvikas has five of Como’s 14 league goals, according to Tattico’s scoring table, and has completed the last three Serie A matches. He also played the full United game between Fiorentina and Sassuolo.

Fàbregas has already tried to manage him. Against Parma, Douvikas entered from the bench; at Feyenoord, he was also a substitute and scored late in the 3–2 defeat. Afterwards, the coach explicitly defended the need to rest him, just as he defended resting Nico.

The current squad list limits the options. Kean and Liberali remain unavailable for Torino, alongside Diao, Jesús Rodríguez and Chalobah. Young Matteo Papaccioli has been called up, but Douvikas remains the established centre-forward available to lead the line.

A scoring run makes it tempting to keep selecting him. It also makes protecting him more important. Como can alter the attacking shape, as they did in Rotterdam, but that involves changing how the team attacks as well as changing the personnel.

What Torino can tell us

The encouraging development is that Como’s alternatives are producing evidence we can assess. Caqueret has sustained his contribution across consecutive starts. Kaiki has affected matches from the bench and the XI. Liberali seized his first league start, while established players such as Milla and Perrone have already shown that starting on the bench need not diminish their importance.

There is still work to do. Ricci and Kambwala need further opportunities, Ramón’s intended breaks have been curtailed, and the attacking injuries leave Douvikas carrying more responsibility than the squad list originally promised.

For me, the next measure of progress is whether these contributions become routine enough for Fàbregas to plan rests with confidence. Saturday offered a valuable example: Como won, other players took responsibility, and Nico never had to come on. Repeating that kind of afternoon across more positions would give this team a much better chance of sustaining the football we have enjoyed this month.

Statistics cover matches completed through 24 October 2026. Tattico player totals cited here are Serie A only and exclude stoppage time; Champions League appearances are discussed separately. Match logs were checked where summary pages showed an earlier gameweek.