Roma run riot again as Malen inspires another emphatic Serie A win
Roma kept their fast start rolling with a brutal 4-0 win over Lecce, stretching their Serie A winning run to 7 matches dating back to last season.
After smashing Fiorentina 4-0, Gian Piero Gasperini's side came out with the same sharp edge again and basically killed this one before Lecce had settled.
Match highlight
A mistake from Kialonda Gaspar gifted Donyell Malen the opening goal, and the Dutch forward took it without hesitation. That strike made him the first Roma player since Vincenzo Montella in 2004-05 to score 4 goals across the club's first 2 league matches of a season.
Matias Soule soon tested Wladimiro Falcone, but the Lecce keeper could not hold Roma off for long. Midway through the half, Wesley Franca picked out Malen at the near post and the forward produced a clever finish that slipped beyond Falcone for his 2nd of the night.
Malen turned provider almost immediately. Only 2 minutes later, he fed Soule, whose first effort was saved by Falcone before he tucked away the rebound to make it 3-0.
Lecce were being overrun and could barely get hold of the match, although they did come close to a reply on the break when Willem Geubbels was denied one-on-one by Mile Svilar.
Soule and Malen both had further efforts off target before the break, and Lecce probably felt relieved to hear the whistle with the damage still limited to 3.
Roma no longer needed to force things, and Lecce finally had a bit more room to breathe. They should really have pulled one back after the hour when Lassana Coulibaly hit the post from a corner and Mario Hermoso had to clear right off the line.
Even then, Roma still carried the bigger threat. Paulo Dybala wasted a good opening by firing over when the 4th goal felt close, and eventually it arrived anyway.
Gianluca Mancini stepped out from the back and squared across for new signing Rodrigo Mora, who tapped in from close range for his first goal for the club. That completed another 4-0 night for Roma.
The result sends them back to the top of the table and only adds to the feeling that Gasperini's team could be real title contenders if this level holds. They have now won 4 straight away league matches and 5 consecutive head-to-head meetings.
For Lecce, it is a very different mood. They will now have to wait at least another year for the chance to win their first 2 Serie A matches of a season for the first time in club history.
