Donyell Malen was modest in the Premier League wearing the Aston Villa shirt and almost useless for the Netherlands at the World Cup, but he is a true balm for Roma's fans. When he puts on the claret-and-blue jersey, he turns into an attacking beast who cannot stop scoring.Last spring, he scored 15 goals in 20 matches across all competitions for the She-Wolf, and he kicked off the new season with a hat-trick for a convincing victory for Gian Piero Gasperini's side, who showed their power at the start of Serie A — 4:0 (1:0).🔚 DAJE ROMA! ⚽️ Malen⚽️ Malen⚽️ Malen⚽️ Pisilli#ASRoma #RomaFiorentina pic.twitter.com/TDy7O4cwRk— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) August 24, 2026 t>There is a school of thought among Serie A fans that Roma owed last season's strong finish, which secured them a Champions League spot, to Paulo Dybala's brilliant performances right at the end. The Argentine also picked up where he left off last season, registering a hat-trick of assists tonight, and could have added a fourth had Santiago Castro been more resourceful after his pass in the closing stages of the match.Dybala did almost everything himself for the first goal in the 27th minute. He carried the ball into the opponent's penalty area, beat several players, and then the Dutchman's sharpness came into play. The second and third goals in the 52nd and 60th minutes were virtually carbon copies of each other.The Romans forced errors from the opponent with strong pressure on Fiorentina's backline, followed by quick combination play in tight spaces between Malen and Dybala, resulting in goals for the former Ajax academy product.How helpless Fabio Grosso's side were was shown by the fact that Fiorentina's first and practically only serious chance came in the 72nd minute, when Moise Kean tried his luck from distance, but Svilar refused to be beaten.🚨🤯 This is INCREDIBLE! Donyell Malen (27) with a hat-trick and Paulo Dybala (32) with a hat-trick of assists. 🔥 They are going crazy for Roma tonight. 🇳🇱🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/Wii1yODoh0— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 24, 2026 On the other hand, Gasperini managed to maintain a high tempo by introducing substitutes in the closing minutes, leading to another goal for the hosts. Once again, Viola crumbled under pressure. Roma youth product Niccolo Pisilli forced a mistake from Mandragora, won the ball in front of goal, and effortlessly beat De Gea.The other home substitutes were also eager to make their mark late in the match and prove to Gasperini that they belong in the lineup for their upcoming Champions League campaign. Castro struck powerful shots on several occasions, while Soule came closest to a fifth goal in the second minute of stoppage time, but his effort was blocked.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 1SaturdayInter – Monza 4-1 (1-1)/Calhanoglu 6, Zielinski 48, Esposito 55, Bisseck 63 – Varela 29/Udinese – Como 1-1 (1-0)/Kamara 29 – Douvikas 54/Genoa – Napoli 0-2 (0-0)/De Bruyne 82 – Vergara 87/Parma – Cagliari 0-1 (0-0)/Romano 79/SundayFrosinone – Juventus 0-1 (0-1)/Bremer 22/Venezia – Lecce 0-2 (0-2)/Gorter 46, Gabriel 80/Atalanta – Sassuolo 2-1 (1-0)/Raspadori 6, Krstovic 65 – Odenthal 55/Torino – Milan 1-2 (0-0)/Adams 90+3 – Cisse 64, Rabiot 66/MondayBologna – Lazio 0-1 (0-0)/Frattesi 59/Roma – Fiorentina 4-0 (1-0)/Malen 27, 52, 60, Pisilli 86/
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