Como beat Venezia 1-0 in Serie A at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on 1 November, with a first-half Lucas Da Cunha penalty deciding the match. The result lifted Como to 23 points in the standings.
Overturned penalty decision
A potential penalty for Venezia involving Luis Milla was overturned by the match officials after a controversial VAR decision. Fabregas told TuttoMercatoWeb: "When I saw it, it looked like a clear penalty to me. Before coming here, I asked whether it was a penalty or not. It’s not me saying it, but I was told it wasn’t, because Luis doesn’t move his arm and is trying to keep it out of the way."
He added: "It looked like a penalty to me, we were lucky, but people who understand it better than me, professionals, said it wasn’t. Ours? That was clearer. If the ball reaches Tasos and he isn’t touched from behind, it’s a goal. It’s difficult, and I’m saying that honestly."
Fabregas on the win
Fabregas said in his post-match assessment: "Nothing on the pitch is easy, and today we saw there’s incredible value in this victory. We’ve played a lot of games away from home. I give a lot of value to what we did, and it isn’t trivial. It’s very difficult to win in football, I see it every week, and today was a fundamental game. Venezia had one shot on target. We didn’t concede anything, and the lads aren’t used to this kind of schedule, one game after another. We’re practically not training, but we have to continue with this mentality."
Squad availability
Assane Diao and Jesus Rodriguez are currently sidelined. Fabregas said: "There are millions and millions of coaches, fans and directors, and I think we can all say that when you play against a low block, one-on-one wingers are fundamental. At the moment we don’t have them, and I never talk to the players about who’s missing. The player’s interpretation becomes fundamental. We mustn’t look for excuses, we need to find an extra solution. But I’d like to have many more solutions. Today Nico was exhausted, and Da Cunha has played every game. They always try to do what we want, and we always try to play the way we want."
Wednesday numbers
Fabregas said: "I’m very happy with Ricci. I saw the Samu I knew at Torino and Milan. He plays brilliantly, like Totti and like Pirlo. Great lad, great mentality. If we give him a bit more, he can become a very strong player in Italy. He has great technique and legs. On Wednesday we’ll have 16 players, and we’ll all have to be ready for the Champions League. Now we’ll rest, then prepare in very little time for an important game on our journey. We have to find energy wherever and however we can to keep this momentum going forward."
