Lecce couldn’t cope with Roma’s dominance

AS Roma delivered another commanding display, hammering Lecce 4-0 in their second 2026-27 Serie A match on Monday.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s team earned all three points thanks to goals from Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé, and Rodrigo Mora.

The Rome club kicked off their Serie A campaign with a dominant 4-0 thrashing of Fiorentina, with Donyell Malen’s hat-trick, all set up by Paulo Dybala.

Roma went ahead in just three minutes, capitalizing on Lecce’s messy backline clearance. Kialonda Gaspar took the ball and released it to Malen, who smashed it into the net with little resistance.

After Soulé’s shot went straight at the keeper, helped by a Manu Kone assist from the byline, the hosts made another disastrous defensive mistake and got punished. 

Gaspar sent the ball to Wesley out of defense, who swung it left for Malen to chip it past Wladimiro Falcone at the near post.

Malen, who joined Roma from Aston Villa last season, has already scored five goals in his first two games. The Netherlands striker has also scored 19 goals in 20 appearances in Serie A.

Roma made it 3-0 just a few minutes later, as Dybala found Malen, who calmly slid the ball to Soulé on the edge of the box. Falcone blocked the first shot, but the Argentine snatched the rebound.

Falcone then stepped up to deny Malen a hat-trick, pulling off a smart save from close range after a quick give-and-go with Dybala.

Leece got their first real chance at 38 minutes, when Willem Geubbels raced onto a through ball from Santiago Pierotti and tested Mile Svilar.

Soulé came close to a brace, but his shot just skimmed the inside of the right post while Malen was also sent clear through the center by Dybala.

After their tactical experiment fell short, Lecce switched things up at halftime and went back to a four-at-the-back setup.

Despite that, Roma kept their control as Malen dragged his shot wide after cutting inside a defender.

The hosts suffered a major blow when Geubbels badly twisted his ankle and had to leave the field.

They came close to cutting the deficit with a wild set-piece, but Gaspar nudged the ball off the post, and Mario Hermoso cleared it off the line in acrobatic fashion.

Dybala had a great chance to score from the counterattack, but his shot sailed over the bar despite being completely unmarked.

Roma finally got their fourth goal through Rodrigo Mora, who’s now scored his first for the club. The substitute waited patiently when Nahuel Molina’s early cross was cleared, Gianluca Mancini rolled it across, and he calmly swept it home from 10 yards.