Fabregas: Como Can Test Inter in Serie A at San Siro

Como coach Cesc Fabregas heads into Sunday's Serie A match at Inter convinced his side can take something from San Siro, even though he sees the champions as the best team in the country. The fixture has grown beyond a contest for a top-four place.

Como have kept improving despite the extra load of Champions League football, and the match now looks like a genuine Scudetto showdown (the Scudetto is the Italian league title). For anyone following Serie A, it is a measure of how far a club without a youth academy in Serie C has traveled.

Como's Champions League run lifts confidence before Inter The European campaign has fed the mood in the squad, most of all the historic 9-1 win away to RC Lens. Fabregas still treats Sunday as a measuring stick rather than a verdict.

He told reporters that every week brings a new question about his team's maturity. The season, he said, was always going to be special, and the motivation is high, but the club know the route they want to take.

In his view the form is good, yet the Inter game only shows how much further Como can go. Fabregas also tried to keep expectations in check after the Lens result.

A night like that, he suggested, comes once in a lifetime if fortune allows. Inter, by contrast, are the defending Italian champions, have won the Coppa Italia and have reached two Champions League finals.

He did not rule out a surprise built on a flawless performance. Why Inter remain a hurdle for Como Como have beaten plenty of bigger names but never Inter, including in a Coppa Italia semi-final.

Fabregas believes the gap is narrower than the record suggests. "We came close three times, but when Inter raise the bar, they become too strong for everyone.

His plan is to play Como's own game without anxiety or added pressure, then judge the team's level afterward. He also pointed to the details that decide matches against Inter, and to the quality of Lautaro Martinez, Hakan Calhanoglu and Marcus Thuram."