Roma fly out of the blocks: top of Serie A, Malen already on 5

It is the best possible start. Roma have won both of their opening two league games and sit top of Serie A on 6 points, ahead of Inter, Milan and Juventus, who are also on maximum points but trail on goal difference.

The numbers tell of clear dominance: eight goals scored and none conceded in two matches, a +8 that is the best mark in the division. No other side has kept a clean sheet while scoring so heavily: the picture of a team already sharp at both ends.

The latest outing was a show of strength: the 4-0 win away at Lecce on 31 August, which underlined the Giallorossi's form and firmly launched their charge at the summit.

The face of the start is Donyell Malen, the outright top scorer in Serie A with 5 goals already on the board. The Dutchman is the most clinical man of the early season and Gasperini's chief attacking weapon.

Off the pitch a few knots remain. Calciomercato.com reports that the UEFA squad lists include exclusions for Roma, Napoli, Como and Juventus, and that UEFA has opened proceedings against Guendouzi and Greenwood: developments concerning the European front that the club will have to manage in the coming weeks.

Now the first real test. The third round opens tonight, Friday 4 September, with Genoa-Como, and on Saturday 5th the Olimpico hosts Atalanta (20:45 local): for Gasperini it is a duel with his own past, the club he coached for years. According to Corriere dello Sport, it is the match that will show how much this Roma has really grown. In the same round the other sides on maximum points are in action too — Inter-Napoli on Saturday, Juventus-Milan on Sunday — and a slip by a rival could immediately stretch Roma's lead at the top.