Roma stars Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala were the standout performers in Serie A round 1, but Italian players left their mark as well, especially Pio Esposito, Antonio Vergara and Davide Frattesi.
The opening round of the 2026-27 Serie A campaign is in the history books, with all the top clubs in Italy’s top flight securing victories.
ROME, ITALY – AUGUST 24: Donyell Malen of AS Roma celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico on August 24, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY – AUGUST 15: Paulo Dybala of AS Roma runs with the ball during the pre-season friendly match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Roma at Signal Iduna Park on August 15, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
Roma’s 4-0 win over Fiorentina on Monday was the last game of Week 1 and featured the weekend’s absolute best players: Dybala and Malen. The latter scored a hat-trick, inspired by three assists from La Joya.
No surprise to see them among the highest-rated players in Round 1 by Italian sports papers.
The average player rating was 8.5/10 for Malen and 8/10 for Dybala, but the list of the top eight performers in Week 1 shows some positives for the Italy national team as well.
MILAN, ITALY – AUGUST 22: Pio Esposito of Internazionale celebrates during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Monza at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on August 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Inter’s Pio Esposito started the season with a fantastic backheel goal and one assist in a 4-1 win over Monza. Vergara made a big impact from the bench, scoring and assisting in Napoli’s controversial 2-0 victory against Genoa.
Frattesi was also introduced from the bench in Lazio’s away game at Bologna, scoring the winning goal for the Biancocelesti at the Dall’Ara.
Serie A Round 1 top playersMalen (Roma) 8.5
Dybala (Roma) 8.0
Esposito (Inter) 7.5
Rabiot (Milan) 7.5
Vergara (Napoli) 7.5
De Bruyne (Napoli) 7.5
Romano (Cagliari) 7.5
Frattesi (Lazio) 7.5
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