For Assane Diao, Marassi is becoming an office where he clocks in. It was at the Ferraris, after all, that he scored his last league goal before the brace on 4 September. That was 26 April, against Genoa again. Four months and a few days later, in the same place, Diao found not only the goal but, more importantly, a version of himself that Como had been waiting a long time to see. The 4-1 with which Cesc Fàbregas’ side swept Genoa aside had Diao’s name on it twice, but reducing the night to the brace would almost do him a disservice. He was much more than a finisher: 84 minutes on the pitch, four successful dribbles — more than any other Como player — 35 completed passes from 38, two chances created and seven touches in the opposition box. Numbers that describe an attacker involved in the game, not simply waiting for the final ball.
Perhaps that is the most interesting detail of his night. Diao took on his opponent one-on-one, played in tight spaces, moved between the lines and exploited the gaps whenever Genoa inevitably began to stretch. It is the dual nature Fàbregas seems to want from him: a player capable of staying within an associative game while also breaking opposition lines with his running.
The first goal came just five minutes after Martin Baturina’s equaliser. Como built from the left, the ball travelled across the area and Leo Østigård, trying to intervene, got just enough on it to turn it into an assist. Diao read the trajectory before anyone else, arrived on the ball and struck it first time. It was the goal that put Como ahead, turning around within a few minutes a game that had begun with Osmajic’s opener and giving the team the feeling that it could take control of the night.
The second was even more revealing because it showed the Como Fàbregas is building. Nico Paz received the ball, saw Moise Kean’s central run and played him into space. The former Fiorentina forward carried it towards goal and, rather than looking for the finish himself, laid it off for Diao. The attacker arrived and finished first time across goal: 4-1, game over, brace. Three players seeming to know where the move was going before it had fully developed.
The understanding between Diao and Nico Paz now has something spontaneous about it. They seem to know when to come short and when to attack the space behind, when to occupy the half-space and when to move wide. But it is not only the two of them. Around that connection are Baturina, Máximo Perrone and Tasos Douvikas, players with different qualities but a shared ability to play in one or two touches and keep the possession moving. The result is a game in which Diao is not tied to one receiving position. He can start wide, take on his man and go to the byline. He can come inside, combine with Paz or Baturina and look for a short exchange. He can still use his speed when the pitch opens up. It is that ability to move from one dimension to another that makes him difficult to read.
Against Genoa, it was particularly clear. The four dribbles are the most obvious statistic, but the 35 completed passes from 38 tell you something just as important: Diao did not spend the game on the margins of Como’s possession, he was part of the move. The seven touches in the opposition box then show how consistently he attacked the decisive area of the pitch. And the two chances created add another detail: not only receiving, but creating something for others. It becomes more significant when you consider where he has come from. Fàbregas’ post-match words offered the clearest confirmation. “Diao had his most complete game since he arrived in Como,” the Spanish coach said, referring not only to the attacking performance, his second after the one in Naples that ended with an assist for Baturina, but also to his “great contribution defensively”.
Last season was a long interruption broken up by injuries. Diao missed 23 games in total, according to the record of his 2025/26 absences. First, a foot problem kept him out for 57 days, then two separate hamstring problems forced him to spend another 71 days on the sidelines. For a 20-year-old who relies on speed and explosiveness as fundamental parts of his game, that meant losing continuity precisely when he should have been building it. The foot problem had already disrupted the start of his season, while the subsequent muscle injuries prevented Diao from putting together a regular run of matches. Como had him available in flashes, without ever really being able to find out what his limit might be.
That is why the performance at Marassi feels different. It was not simply the night of the brace, but the night Diao seemed to be playing without the weight of having to make up for lost time. He ran, beat his man, combined, attacked the goal, tracked back, pressed and kept Como’s aggression high. Above all, he did it for 84 minutes before making way for Mattia Liberali. Fàbregas can now look ahead and imagine an attacking unit in which the talent is not only individual. Nico Paz has already shown he can be the creative centre, Baturina adds quality and a shot, Perrone connects midfield and the attacking third, Douvikas offers movement and depth. Diao is the one who can change the tempo, the player who can speed up a system built on combinations but still needs someone capable of breaking the game open.
His brace arrived in those two ways: first by reading a loose ball and turning it into a first-time finish, then by completing a move built through Paz and Kean. Two different goals, one instinctive, quick and vertical, the other born from combination play, positioning and an understanding with his teammates. Perhaps that is the best news for Como. Diao has not simply found the goal again, but also the confidence in the action, the trust in his own game, the freedom to be unpredictable. Diao is back at the centre. And if Fàbregas’ Como can play tight when it needs to and run into open space when it appears, some of the credit belongs to him too, because few players in the squad can do both with the same naturalness.