Stadio Olimpico, Rome — Matchday 1, Serie A 2026/27
Serie A's opening weekend closed spectacularly as AS Roma demolished Fiorentina 4-0 at a packed Stadio Olimpico, sending a clear early message to the rest of the league under new-ish boss Gian Piero Gasperini, who is now leading the Giallorossi into his second campaign in the capital.
Fittingly, this was billed as the marquee fixture to close out matchday one, and it delivered. Roma controlled the game from start to finish, with the scoreline reflecting a genuinely one-sided affair rather than a scrappy opening-day nerves fest. Fiorentina, under debutant coach Fabio Grosso in his first competitive match on the Viola bench, simply had no answer.
The story of the match was Donyell Malen, who tore Fiorentina's back line apart with a first-half-to-second-half hat-trick, finding the net in the 27th, 52nd and 60th minutes. Each goal was set up by a rampant Paulo Dybala, who turned in a man of the match display, carving out three assists in what looked every bit like a player relishing a fresh start to the season.
Roma had gone ahead through Malen's opener after a disputed passage of play. Fiorentina's players surrounded the referee, protesting what they felt was a foul by Mario Hermoso on Franco Mastantuono in the build-up, but the goal stood, and Roma never looked back.
Substitute Niccolò Pisilli capped off the rout in the 86th minute, poking home a rebound after good work from fellow substitute Matías Soulé to make it four and put a definitive stamp on the scoreline.
Gasperini set his side up in a 3-4-2-1, a shape built to overload the wings and create combinations between the lines, and it worked to perfection. Wesley and Emanuele Lulli provided width from wing-back, while Dybala and Rodrigo Mora operated just behind Malen as a roaming strike force.
Fiorentina's 4-3-2-1, with Mastantuono and Arthur Atta tasked with supplying lone striker Mateo Pellegrino, never got enough of the ball in dangerous areas to trouble Mile Svilar in the Roma goal.
The visitors' best chance of note came from a Radu Dragusin header at a set piece just before half-time, ruled out for offside — and that was as close as they came all night.
By the second half, with the game already put to bed, Roma comfortably managed the contest, rotating in fresh legs. Santiago Castro, Neil El Aynaoui, Konstantinos Koulierakis and Pisilli all got minutes while Fiorentina searched in vain for a consolation goal that never arrived.
Roma were without Devyne Rensch and Lorenzo Pellegrini through injury, while Fiorentina had to make do without Fabiano Parisi.
For Roma, this was about as perfect a start as Gasperini could have asked for. Off the back of a Champions League qualification last season, the manager's second campaign at the helm is off to a flying start, and a dominant home win against a fellow top-half aspirant will only fuel belief that the Giallorossi can push for more silverware this term.
For Fiorentina, it's a night to forget on Grosso's competitive debut. The Viola head into the new season having invested heavily in the transfer market, much like Roma, but this result is a reminder that fresh signings need time to gel — and that Serie A shows no mercy to teams still finding their shape. They'll need to regroup quickly, with the Coppa Italia already underway following their 4-1 win over Benevento.
The head-to-head record between these two sides in Rome now reads even more lopsided in the Giallorossi's favor, and Fiorentina still haven't beaten Roma at the Olimpico since April 2018, a run that stretches back more than eight years.
Final Score: AS Roma 4-0 Fiorentina
Goals: Malen 27', 52', 60'; Pisilli 86'