Schalke, Fiorentina, Sevilla, and Rennes Shine in Dramatic European Matches
Schalke surge, Rennes rise, Fiorentina awaken and Sevilla squeeze through on a dramatic night across Europe.
Schalke ruthless as referee limps off
Two clubs, one point each, both already feeling the early-season tension. Schalke walked away with the relief. And with Loris Karius.
The newly promoted side tore into Union Berlin and never really let go, powering to a 3-1 win in Gelsenkirchen on a night that had just about everything, including a referee substitution.
Robin Gosens set the tone with a sharp, angled volley to open the scoring, a clean strike that immediately loosened Schalke’s shoulders. Seconds after the restart, they went for the throat. Aouchiche finished off a flowing move with a superbly taken effort to double the lead and leave Union scrambling.
From there, it became the Karius show. The goalkeeper, named player of the match, kept Berlin at arm’s length for most of the second half, turning what could have been a nervy finale into something far more controlled. He finally yielded in the sixth minute of added time when Tim Skarke found a way through, but even that glimmer of hope vanished almost instantly.
With virtually the last kick, Maximilian Wober stepped up and restored the two-goal cushion, sealing a statement win for Schalke and underlining the difference in ruthlessness between the sides.
The night also brought an unusual twist. Referee Timo Gerach pulled up early in the second half, complaining of a sore calf, and had to come off. Fourth official Jarno Wienefeld, a regular in Bundesliga 2, took over and handled his first top-flight whistle in Germany under bright lights and real pressure.
Mastantuono hat trick drags Fiorentina off the floor
In Serie A, two winless teams met with the table already starting to look uncomfortable. Venezia struck first, but Fiorentina finally found a spark — and a star.
Akor Adams put Venezia ahead on 22 minutes, finishing neatly with his right foot after tidy build-up play from American midfielder Gianluca Busio. The home side had the lead, the momentum, and a restless away bench in front of them.
Then Franco Mastantuono ripped the script to pieces.
He burst forward twice in quick succession, scoring in the 29th and 30th minutes to flip the match and send Fiorentina into the break with a 2-1 lead. The turnaround felt sudden, brutal, and exactly what Vincenzo Italiano’s men had been missing in their opening three defeats.
The pressure didn’t ease after the interval. Midway through the second half, Mateo Pellegrino made it 3-1, grabbing his second goal in as many games and tightening Fiorentina’s grip. Venezia wobbled, and Mastantuono wasn’t done.
Six minutes from time, he completed his hat trick, a ruthless flourish that underlined his dominance of the evening and pushed Fiorentina clear. Antoine Hainaut’s late strike for Venezia trimmed the scoreline but not the damage.
Venezia stayed bottom of the 20-team table, still without a point. Fiorentina climbed to 15th — not glamorous, but finally moving in the right direction.
Sevilla edge lifeless Valencia as visitors stay rooted to bottom
In La Liga, it was tense rather than thrilling. Sevilla won’t care.
They moved into joint second with a late 1-0 victory over a Valencia side that barely laid a glove on them. The match drifted for long spells, short on rhythm and even shorter on chances, until the home team finally found a way through with nine minutes left.
Giorgi Kochorashvili swung in a deep cross from the left, hanging it up towards the far post. Juan Antonio Iglesias met it, his header looping over the goalkeeper and dropping in to break the deadlock.
Valencia offered no response. They finished the match without a single shot on target, a stark statistic for a club of their size and expectation. One point from a possible 15 left them bottom, the pressure tightening with every flat performance.
Sevilla, by contrast, quietly moved into the pack at the top, their late winner another reminder that grinding out results can matter as much as style in the early weeks.
Rennes hit top spot as Marseille sink deeper
Over in Ligue 1, Rennes climbed to the summit and pushed Marseille further into crisis.
The Breton club made it three wins on the bounce, edging a 1-0 victory that sent them one point clear of Monaco. The decisive moment came six minutes into the second half, when Adrien Thomasson — a recent arrival from Lens — struck his first goal for Rennes.
It was enough. Rennes managed the game, protected their lead, and walked away with both the result and the league’s top spot, at least for now.
For Marseille, the picture darkened. This was a third straight defeat and the club’s worst start to a league campaign in more than two decades. They sit 11th, on just three points, with frustration growing and questions about where the spark will come from.
West Ham hit six and take control in the Championship
In England, West Ham made their own statement at the top of the Championship.
They dismantled Wrexham 6-0, a ruthless display that saw six different players find the net. The variety of scorers underlined the depth and confidence in the squad, and the margin of victory sent a clear message to the rest of the division.
The win lifted West Ham to the top of the table, one point ahead of West Bromwich Albion. It is early, but nights like this can set a tone. The question now is whether they can turn this kind of dominance into a sustained promotion push.
