Italian clubs achieved a historic 4-0 sweep in the third round of the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League fixtures played on October 21, 2026, bouncing back from a disastrous prior matchday with four consecutive victories from Napoli, Roma, Como, and Inter.
Italian Clubs Secure Historic Clean Sweep in Champions League
Italian football experienced a dramatic reversal of fortunes on October 21, 2026, as Serie A representatives secured four wins out of four matches in the UEFA Champions League. This perfect round follows a disastrous second matchday where Italian sides suffered four defeats without a single win, according to The Sports Gazette. Brugge, Villarreal, Real Madrid and Feyenoord had been the executioners of the Italian sides in that second round of the league phase. The last time Italian teams achieved a clean sweep in a Champions League matchday dates back to October 2018, when Inter, Napoli, Roma, and Juventus all won their respective fixtures, The Sports Gazette noted, specifically referencing Inter’s 2-1 away win against PSV Eindhoven, Napoli’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool, Roma’s 5-0 win against Viktoria Plzen, and Juventus’s 3-0 defeat of Young Boys on October 2 and 3, 2018. Before 2018, this full haul had happened only four times in history: twice in 2005 and once in 2003. Across the latest four matches, Italian clubs scored 13 goals and conceded 4. A strange alternation continues in the tournament: after the Premier League achieved a clean sweep in the first matchday and La Liga in the second, the third turn went to Serie A.
Como Overtakes Manchester United in Historic European Night
Among the standout fixtures, Como claimed a 4–1 victory against Manchester United at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Ramon added a fourth goal in the 76th minute before Zirkzee scored for Manchester United in the 91st minute. The win lifts Como to six points in the league phase standings. This gala performance by Nico Paz with two goals and one assist will certainly have re-ignited Real Madrid’s spotlight, while Fabregas’s team continues its run toward the playoff, though the direct path to the round of 16 remains difficult with PSG and Barcelona at the bottom of the calendar.
Inter Overcomes Red Card to Defeat Shakhtar Donetsk
The Nerazzurri played with ten men from the 68th minute following Alessandro Bastoni’s red card, successfully protecting their lead to move to three points in the standings. Roma and Napoli also contributed to the Italian haul with victories over Slovan Bratislava and Bodo Glimt respectively, while their youth counterparts recorded dominant wins, including Roma’s 5–0 victory featuring a hat-trick by Lorenzo Paratici, according to The Sports Gazette.
Italy Rises to Fifth in UEFA Country Ranking
The four victories improved Italy’s position in the 2026–27 UEFA Country Ranking, lifting the nation to fifth place with 6.357 points behind England, Spain, Germany, and Turkey, keeping alive prospects for an extra Champions League berth, The Sports Gazette reported. All four Italian clubs currently occupy playoff positions in the league phase, though Courier TV noted that the next round of fixtures in two weeks will require all four teams to play away matches. For Roma, the upcoming tests in Europe arrive entirely away from home, the first against Manchester United—a rival that has historically troubled the Giallorossi at Old Trafford—and the second at the Parc des Princes.
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