Lazio matched Inter at the summit of Serie A on Sunday with a convincing 3-1 victory over Monza, while title contenders Roma were frustrated in a goalless draw at Como after playing more than half the match with 10 men.
Gennaro Gattuso's Lazio side continue to impress following his departure from the Italian national team after missing out on World Cup qualification for 2026. The Rome club remains unbeaten this season and has now won five of its opening six league fixtures, lifting them to 16 points alongside Inter, who claimed a 3-0 win over Parma at San Siro the previous day.
Lazio made a blistering start against Monza, with Nuno Tavares opening the scoring inside three minutes before Gustav Isaksen doubled the advantage before the half-hour mark. Monza's afternoon worsened when Lorenzo Lucchesi was shown a red card in the 35th minute for pulling back Tijjani Noslin, who had broken clear on goal. Despite being reduced to 10 men and sitting 16th in the table, Monza showed resilience after the interval, pulling a goal back and threatening an equalizer before Lazio sealed the points with a third goal late on.
At Como, Roma's hopes of climbing the table were hampered when leading scorer Donyell Malen was sent off early in the second half for a reckless challenge. The dismissal forced Gian Piero Gasperini's side to shift into a more defensive posture, and despite Como's pressure, neither team could find a breakthrough in a contest between two clubs considered potential surprise packages in the title race. The stalemate marked the first scoreless draw of the Serie A season.
The result leaves both Roma and Como two points adrift of the new joint leaders, Inter and Lazio.
"We played two-thirds of the match a man down, that is the disappointing thing," said Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini afterward, speaking to DAZN. "We were confident we had an excellent chance, but we were forced to defend with 10 men, and we did so with order and clarity. When you play 30 minutes with 10 men and come away with a draw, that is fine."
Elsewhere in Serie A, Bologna secured their maiden league victory of the campaign, defeating Lecce 2-1, while further fixtures were set to see Milan travel to face Sassuolo and surprise package Cagliari host Juventus at the Unipol Domus later in the day.
In Germany, Borussia Mönchengladbach's torrid start to the Bundesliga season continued with a 2-1 defeat to local rivals Cologne, a result that leaves them rooted at the bottom of the table without a point from five matches. The defeat extended new coach Alexander Blessin's winless start since taking charge.
The Rhine derby was marred by disorder in the stands, with the match temporarily halted and riot police deployed around the away section after Gladbach supporters appeared to launch fireworks into the home end. The disturbance followed Said El Mala's decisive second-half strike for Cologne, which proved to be the winning goal and compounded Gladbach's miserable run of five straight losses to open the season.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.