Lazio climbed to the top of the Serie A standings with an emphatic 6-2 victory over 10-man Sassuolo on Tuesday, as Romano Floriani celebrated his first goal in Italy's top flight.
The 23-year-old right-back, who is the great-grandson of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, found the net in the 17th minute as Lazio delivered another commanding performance to maintain their impressive start to the season.
Lazio were already in control before Sassuolo midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt received a red card in the 31st minute, leaving the hosts with an uphill battle.
"I'm really happy to have scored that first goal, but even more so about this win, which is crucial for us," Floriani said after the match.
The victory took Lazio to 25 points from a possible 27 in their opening nine league matches, putting them three points clear of defending champions Inter Milan.
Inter have an opportunity to close the gap when they travel to face bottom-placed Venezia on Wednesday.
Kenneth Taylor opened the scoring for Lazio before Thorstvedt briefly brought Sassuolo back into contention with an equaliser.
However, Gustav Isaksen and Floriani restored Lazio's advantage, putting the visitors firmly in control despite Sebastiano Esposito later adding a second goal for Sassuolo.
Mattia Zaccagni also got on the scoresheet, while Tijjani Noslin struck twice to complete the emphatic victory.
Remarkably, Lazio managed to score six goals despite missing two penalties during the encounter.
Despite his side's outstanding start to the campaign, Lazio manager Gennaro Gattuso warned his players against becoming distracted by their position at the top of the table.
"We mustn't look at the standings, otherwise we'll get a headache and start thinking we're very good," Gattuso said.
"We must not stray from our path, the path of hard work, of taking it one match at a time."
The Lazio boss emphasised the importance of maintaining discipline and consistency as his team looks to sustain its early momentum in the Serie A title race.
Elsewhere in Serie A, Roma strengthened their grip on third place with an entertaining 4-2 home victory over Cagliari.
Meanwhile, Como continued their impressive campaign with a 3-1 away win against Torino, moving above AC Milan into fourth place.
With Lazio setting the early pace and several clubs competing near the top, the Serie A title race is beginning to take shape.
