Como draw PSG and Manchester United at home as historic Champions League debut includes Barcelona trip

Como’s first European campaign in club history will begin on the biggest stage of all, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United among the visitors awaiting Cesc Fàbregas’ side in the 2026/27 Champions League league phase.

Thursday’s draw gave the Italian club a formidable introduction to the competition. Como will also host RB Leipzig and AEK Athens, while their four away assignments include a trip to Barcelona alongside visits to Real Betis, Feyenoord and Lens.

Home

- Paris Saint-Germain - Manchester United - RB Leipzig - AEK Athens

Away

- Barcelona - Real Betis - Feyenoord - Lens

For a club entering European competition for the first time, the scale of the draw is difficult to overstate.

PSG and Manchester United bring two of European football’s most recognisable names to Como, while Leipzig add another opponent with substantial Champions League experience. AEK Athens complete a home programme that gives Fàbregas’ side little opportunity to ease gradually into the competition.

The marquee away fixture is even clearer.

Como will travel to face Barcelona, taking a team that had never previously qualified for Europe into one of the defining fixtures of their rapid rise. Trips to Real Betis and Feyenoord provide further tests against established European opposition, while Lens complete the road schedule.

The draw represents the latest stage of an extraordinary transformation.

Como finished fourth in Serie A last season to secure Champions League qualification, completing a journey that has taken the club from Italy’s lower divisions to Europe’s elite under Fàbregas. UEFA lists 2026/27 as Como’s first European campaign and, consequently, their first appearance in the European Cup or Champions League.

That history changes the context of every fixture.

For more established clubs, the league phase is primarily a route toward the knockout rounds. For Como, qualification itself has already broken new ground — but the level of investment and progression around the squad means their campaign cannot simply be treated as a ceremonial appearance.

The challenge will be converting the qualities that carried them to fourth place in Italy into a competition offering far less margin for error.

Home points could become crucial. PSG, United and Leipzig make that task difficult, but Como’s ability to make their home fixtures uncomfortable may determine whether they can remain competitive in the 36-team table.

Away from home, the demands are equally varied. Barcelona will test their ability to defend territory and control extended spells without possession; Betis and Feyenoord offer different tactical and environmental challenges; Lens provide another fixture where the gap between ambition and European experience will be examined.

Under the league-phase format, the top eight clubs advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing from ninth to 24th enter the knockout play-offs.

For Como, however, the significance of the draw extends beyond qualification mathematics.

A club playing European football for the first time will welcome PSG and Manchester United and travel to Barcelona before January is over.

The question now is whether one of Italian football’s fastest-rising projects can make its historic first Champions League campaign more than simply a landmark season — and turn it into another stage of the ascent.