Malen Hat-Trick, All Set Up by Dybala, Sends Roma Top With 4-0 Win Over Fiorentina

Roma opened their Serie A campaign in ruthless fashion, thrashing Fiorentina 4-0 at the Stadio Olimpico as Donyell Malen struck a hat-trick with every goal set up by Paulo Dybala, sending Gian Piero Gasperini's side top of the early standings.

Roma broke the deadlock after 27 minutes when Dybala drove into the box and squared for Malen, who beat Dodo before squeezing a finish into the bottom corner. The Dutch forward doubled the lead seven minutes into the second half, again teed up by Dybala, before completing his hat-trick on the hour mark when Dybala burst into the box down the right and laid the ball on a plate. Substitute Niccolo Pisilli added a fourth late on, converting after a fortunate ricochet off Rolando Mandragora to round off a one-sided contest. It was the first hat-trick of assists for a single teammate in Serie A since Emanuel Vignato did so for Rodrigo Palacio in May 2021, fittingly also against Fiorentina.

The performance underlined Roma's dominance throughout, with the hosts finishing with 61% possession, 17 shots to Fiorentina's nine, and 39 touches in the box compared to just four for the visitors. It capped a difficult opening-day experience for new Fiorentina head coach Fabio Grosso, who endured a tough Serie A managerial debut having replaced Paolo Vanoli over the summer, with the Viola offering little going forward beyond isolated moments from loanee Franco Mastantuono.

The result extends Roma's fine recent form, with the club now unbeaten in their last six Serie A matches, scoring at least two goals in each and keeping five clean sheets over that stretch. Off the pitch, the club were also busy finalising a loan deal for Fenerbahce's Jayden Oosterwolde, continuing an active summer as Gasperini looks to build on last season's return to Champions League football.