AS Roma opened their Serie A 2026/27 campaign in ruthless fashion at the Stadio Olimpico, delivering a 4-0 victory over Fiorentina to kick off Round 1 of the new season. Donyell Malen produced a lethal performance upfront, netting a sensational hat-trick to lead the host’s attack. Down the other end, Fiorentina spent long stretches pinned deep inside their own box, unable to stem the flow of pressure once defensive chasms opened across the pitch.
The evening belonged in equal measure to Paulo Dybala, who orchestrated a masterclass in playmaking from the opening whistle. Operating with complete freedom, the Argentine carved open the visitors with a hat-trick of assists before departing to applause in the 79th minute with a 9.1 Sofascore rating. Dybala caused fits for the Viola defense early on, threatening with several strikes after finding space all too easily. Fiorentina goalkeeper David de Gea made a marvelous save on Mora’s curler, but he was left powerless in the 27th minute. Dybala drove directly through three defenders before setting up Malen, who used fancy feet before finishing from close range.
Fiorentina attempted to push numbers forward as manager Gasperini wanted, but the tactical risk backfired completely. Midfield and defensive cracks only widened, allowing the hosts to gallop forward on the break whenever they pleased. The visitors, in contrast, looked completely out of ideas. Malen doubled the lead in the 52nd minute after converting another Dybala delivery. The duo completed their hat-trick connection on the hour mark when João Mário and Luca Ranieri combined poorly in defense, allowing Dybala to waltz into the box and tee up Malen for his third goal in the 60th minute.
With the contest firmly settled, Roma added a fourth goal in the 86th minute through Niccolò Pisilli to finalize a 4-0 scoreline. Physicality crept into the match throughout the evening, seeing Mario Hermoso booked in the 39th minute and Manu Koné shown a yellow card in the 49th minute for Roma, while Nicolò Fagioli in the 30th minute and Marco Pellegrino in the 64th minute picked up cautions for Fiorentina. It was a dominant opening display from Roma, leaving the visitors with major defensive issues to rectify after being exposed on the counter-attack time after time.
