Malen’s treble fires Roma to top of Serie A

Roma's Donyell Malen scored a hat-trick as the Italian Serie A champions claimed a dominant 4-0 victory over Fiorentina on Monday, propelling the club to the top of the league table. Remarkably, Malen's impressive form since joining Roma on loan from Aston Villa in January, and making the deal permanent in the summer, has seen him net 17 goals in 19 league appearances.

Assisting Malen were Argentina forward Paulo Dybala, who set up all three goals, and Niccolo Pisilli, who added a fourth goal four minutes from the end. This stunning performance saw Roma leapfrog Inter Milan, who secured a 4-1 win against Monza on Saturday in the first round of matches. Earlier on Monday, Davide Frattesi gave new Lazio coach Gennaro Gattuso a strong start to his career with a 1-0 win over Bologna.

The win provided a bright spot for the new coach, who suffered a heavy Italian Cup defeat to second division Mantova in his penultimate competitive match as Lazio manager last week. The loss sparked outrage among Lazio's passionate fans, who had been protesting against club owner Claudio Lotito, including through a boycott of home games.