There are few more improbable sights in European football than the Champions League anthem echoing across the shore of Lake Como. On 10 September 2026, that is exactly what happened: Como 1907 walked out for the first Champions League match in their history at the 13,602-capacity Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia — one of the smallest grounds ever to stage the competition's league phase — and promptly dismantled RB Leipzig 4-1. For ground-hoppers, it was the arrival of a genuinely special new destination on the football-tourism map.
The match: Como 4, RB Leipzig 1
This was no smash-and-grab. Como matched Leipzig almost stat-for-stat and simply took their chances better. Possession finished level at 49% to Leipzig's 51%, and both sides managed 14 shots — but Como landed six on target to Leipzig's four, and were ruthless when it counted. Marco Demichelis's visitors, for all their pressing and their five corners, never recovered from a first half in which they trailed 2-0.
The standout was Martin Baturina, awarded a near-perfect match rating of 9.0 as Como's midfield conductor. Around him, teenage playmaker Nico Paz (rated 8.42) pulled the strings, winger Assane Diao (8.02) stretched the Leipzig back line, and striker Tasos Douvikas (7.77) led the press and the finishing. Christopher Nkunku's goal offered Leipzig a brief flicker, but the night belonged to the hosts, who played with the freedom of a club with nothing to lose and a lake at their back.
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VeneziaThe venue: football on the water's edge
The Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia sits almost impossibly close to Lake Como, in the Viale Puecher park area on the edge of the historic city centre. With a capacity of just 13,602, it is a throwback in an age of 60,000-seat bowls — and that intimacy is precisely its charm. Opened in the late 1920s and named after Giuseppe Sinigaglia, a champion rower and local hero who died in the First World War, the ground carries the elegant, rationalist-era character of its era in the surrounding architecture and its compact, close-to-the-pitch stands.
For a Champions League night, the smallness works in the home team's favour. There is no running track, no vast gap between crowd and touchline. Supporters are right on top of the action, and the acoustics turn even a modest attendance into a wall of noise. Add the backdrop — the Alps rising beyond the water, the pastel facades of Como's old town a short stroll away — and you have arguably the most scenic top-level football venue on the continent.
Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia
13,602 capacity
View stadium →Why ground-hoppers should book this one
Plenty of grounds are worth visiting for their history or their atmosphere. Sinigaglia offers something rarer: a complete day out where the football is only part of the appeal.
The stadium is a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk from Como's lakefront and the Piazza Cavour, so a matchday can be built around an afternoon by the water, a funicular ride up to Brunate for the panoramic view, and an early-evening walk to the ground as the light fades over the lake. Como is also astonishingly easy to reach: roughly an hour by train from Milano Cattedrale to Como San Giovanni, which makes it an ideal add-on for anyone already planning a Serie A or Champions League trip to Milan.
Because capacity is so limited, demand for the biggest European nights far outstrips supply. If Como's continental adventure continues, tickets for marquee visitors will be among the hardest to find in Europe, so plan early and consider the less glamorous league-phase fixtures if you simply want to experience the ground.
A new chapter for Italian football tourism
Italy's ground-hopping reputation has long rested on its cathedrals of the game — the San Siro, the Stadio Olimpico, the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Como offers a different flavour entirely: small, historic, staggeringly beautiful, and now, improbably, a Champions League venue. Nights like the 4-1 win over RB Leipzig are exactly what the neutral traveller dreams of — an underdog story in a setting you would happily visit even without a match on.
If you have been looking for a reason to add Lake Como to your football-tourism itinerary, the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia has just given you a compelling one. Plan the trip, catch the train from Milan, and see one of European football's most charming grounds while it is enjoying its moment in the spotlight.
Chasing more iconic Italian grounds? Explore our guides to Serie A's most storied stadiums and start mapping your next ground-hopping route.