Assane Diao is still a teenager but commands the football pitch like a 27-year-old Ballon d’Or nominee.

With five goals in his first eight Serie A appearances, the 19-year-old has evolved into Serie A’s best January transfer (as predicted in our Calcio FC podcast), with no adversary too big to bring down.

The Spaniard’s goal against League leaders Napoli was not unexpected, his third in three games, a match-winner made to look easy against the Campionato’s best defence. Words can’t describe the foot-eye coordination required to cushion Nico Paz’s vertical pass and then execute clinically into the bottom corner.

In the second half, Diao’s Midas touch was incendiary at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.

Not many expected Como to end Napoli’s ten-match unbeaten streak. But Cesc Fabregas’ side exploited the Partenopei’s recent defensive fragilities early in the contest when Diao’s high press running created chaos for Amir Rrahmani, the Azzurri centre half passing backwards into Alex Meret’s unguarded net from 25 yards.

Modus Operandi

Cesc Fabregas has instituted high-intensity, out-of-possession running brilliantly for most of the season, one of many crucial assets he has instilled in Como’s development as they push for top-tier sustainability.

Individually, Diao has taken it to another level, scoring against some of the competition’s best defences – Milan, Fiorentina, Juventus and now Napoli – in astonishingly rapid fashion.

Four of Diao’s five goals have come at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, territorially marking Como’s home ground as his own. More importantly, the starlet’s winner against Napoli could be decisive in the Lariani’s quest to stay up. The Senegal-born winger was later named the Panini Player of the Match.

From a historical standpoint, survival for Como means they will compete in two consecutive Serie A seasons for the first time since 1988. The late eighties marked the end of the Biancoblu’s golden era, back when they spent seven of nine seasons competing against the likes of Michel Platini, Diego Maradona and Marco Van Basten.

As Milan won the title in 1988-89, Marco Simone top-scored at Como with six goals from 34 matches, an achievement already co-shared by Patrick Cutrone and Nico Paz in 2024-25. Diao is now widely tipped to surpass the lot of them.

On Sunday, Fabregas’ attacking triumvirate conspired for the winner: Cutrone’s clever pass came in from the left, and Paz received and played vertically to Diao, who skipped around the back of Rrahmani to place it beyond Meret.

Usually such a solid and dependable defender, Rrahmani’s performance on Sunday will remind Napoli diehards of his 2021 club debut under former manager Gennaro Gattuso. On that occasion, the Kosovar’s nervy backpass fell a few yards short of Meret. Kevin Lasagna intercepted, rounded Meret and equalised for Udinese.

Unfortunately for Rrahmani, if Napoli’s title hopes fade further, his error in Lombardia could be remembered as a killer blow. In that event, expect Conte to start the bus, throw the 30-year-old under it, then use it to transport him away from Castel Volturno in the summer. Despite having two years remaining on his €62,000 per week contract, moments like these are seldom forgotten in football-crazy cities like Naples.

The drinks are on us

To make matters worse for the Napoli contingency that travelled to Como, the own goal was scored at their end. The consolation? Free beer – a promise made by Como’s ownership group last October when the two sides met at the Stadio Diego Maradona.

In Rrahmani’s defence, Diao has made light work of defenders such as Fikayo Tomori and Federico Gatti since his €12m arrival from La Liga. He’s also beaten David De Gea, Mike Maignan and Michele Di Gregorio since making his debut six weeks ago.

At the time of writing, the former Real Betis attacker is the youngest player in Europe’s Top Five Leagues to have scored five goals or more in 2024-25. Now that’s worthy of a free beer bonus.

La Salvezza

Empoli’s freefall into the relegation zone significantly boosts Como’s survival aspirations. With 12 rounds remaining, Fabregas has secured 28 points, seven more than the 18th-placed Tuscans, who haven’t won in 11 matches and have earned only two points since the beginning of December.

Conversely, Como have notched up 17 during that time, with 10 earned since Diao laid siege to Serie A.

It’s still too early to call the title race or the relegation battle, with every result crucial. With Inter on the horizon, Napoli and Conte have six days to prepare for their date with destiny. Giacomo Raspadori’s resurgence is a blessing, a welcome consolation for David Neres’ continued unavailability.

Scoreless in his last four games, Romelu Lukaku is due to break his drought against his former side – a six-pointer that will either put Napoli back on top, keep the gap to one, or give Inter a commanding lead. Adding pressure, Atalanta are back in the mix after trouncing Empoli 5-0.

Next, Como travel to the Stadio Olimpico to face Roma where they will attempt to make history by winning three successive Serie A matches for the first time since 1952.

In their current form, Dybala versus Diao is a mouthwatering prospect. Still, the latter won’t be afraid of the big occasion in the Nation’s capital – and a duel with Gianluca Mancini – as he strives to score in four straight matches and get Como a step closer to securing Serie A for 2025-26.

Watch as we analyse Serie A’s best transfers on DCTV: