Malen on fire as Roma go top in Serie A

Dutch international Donyell Malen was the hero again as Roma ran Lecce ragged in Serie A on Monday with a mesmerising 4-0 away win where the in-form forward scored twice.

Malen's brace, bolstered by the hat-trick he scored in Roma's 4-0 thumping of Fiorentina last week, took his tally to 19 goals from 20 league matches since joining from Aston Villa in January.

Veteran coach Gian Piero Gasperini described Roma's performance as top calibre last week and this latest performance at a packed Lecce stadium was of the same ilk.

Champions Inter Milan, Ruben Amorim's AC Milan, Juventus and Lazio all also have six points after two matches.

Gasperini's men rushed Lecce with waves of lightning breaks as Malen netted a double inside the opening 24 minutes.

Matias Soule is rumoured to be leaving Roma but scored the third on 25 minutes, while new arrival the 19-year-old Portuguese midfielder Rodrigo Mora completed the rout just after the hour.

Gasperini then took off Malen with Roma facing a heavy schedule and the club under financial constraints to keep the squad on a modest wage bill.

Atalanta host Bologna in Monday's late game, the last of the second round of the Serie A season.