Morgan Rogers scored on his Chelsea debut to hand Xabi Alonso a 3-2 win over Fulham, while Donyell Malen netted three in Roma's 4-0 Serie A opener against Fiorentina.
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso kicked off his Premier League tenure with a 3-2 victory over London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage, aided by a debut strike from club-record signing Morgan Rogers.
Brazilian attacker João Pedro needed just 32 seconds to put Chelsea ahead, though Josh King leveled midway through the first half for Fulham. Rogers restored Chelsea's lead four minutes before halftime, and Cole Palmer made it 3-1 four minutes into the second half. Gonzalo García pulled one back with a close-range header five minutes later, but Chelsea held on to hand Alonso a winning start over his former Spain teammate Álvaro Arbeloa in the Fulham dugout.
Over in Italy, Donyell Malen delivered a blistering Serie A opening performance, scoring a hat-trick in Roma's 4-0 victory over Fiorentina. Malen converted three passes from Paulo Dybala in the 27th, 52nd, and 60th minutes before substitute Niccolò Pisilli capped off the win four minutes from time.
In other Serie A action, Davide Frattesi scored five minutes into his Lazio debut to give new head coach Gennaro Gattuso a 1-0 victory at Bologna. Frattesi finished off a backheeled pass from Boulaye Dia in a fiery match featuring eight yellow cards, giving Gattuso relief following Lazio's shock Italian Cup exit to Serie B side Mantova a week earlier.
In Spain's La Liga, both featured fixtures ended in draws. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his second goal in as many games for Deportivo A Coruna off a Luismi Cruz throughball in the 21st minute against Malaga, but Chupete equalized from the penalty spot 13 minutes later after Rafita Garrido was brought down by Lucas Noubi. Elsewhere, Levante and Osasuna played out a goalless 0-0 draw.
In the German Cup, Wolfsburg narrowly avoided an exit against fourth-tier Altglienicke, coming from behind three times to draw 3-3 after extra time before advancing 6-5 on penalties. Schalke also overcame fourth-tier Hallescher, scoring three extra-time goals after a 2-2 draw in regular time to progress. Cologne defeated third-tier Würzburger Kickers behind an Isak Johannesson brace, while Hamburg coasted to a 3-0 victory against Verl.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.