Schalke Surges, Fiorentina's Hat Trick, Sevilla's Narrow Win, Rennes on Top

Rennes hit the summit, Sevilla climb, Fiorentina breathe, and Schalke roar back to life. Across Europe, Friday night delivered storylines everywhere you looked.

Schalke surge as referee limps off

Two clubs under early pressure, one newly promoted, both stuck on a single point. By full time in Gelsenkirchen, only Schalke looked like a side ready to settle into the Bundesliga.

They beat Union Berlin 3-1, and the scoreline barely captured how controlled it felt at times. Loris Karius, named player of the match, underpinned it all with a commanding performance in goal.

Robin Gosens set the tone early. He met a cross with a sharp angled volley, drilling Schalke into the lead. Union never really recovered their balance. Just after the restart, Aouchiche punished them again, finishing a sweeping move with a clean, confident strike to make it 2-0.

Berlin pushed after that. Karius refused to blink. He blocked, smothered and claimed everything he could as Union tried to drag themselves back into the contest.

The game had already taken a strange twist early in the second half when referee Timo Gerach pulled up with a sore calf and had to come off. Fourth official Jarno Wienefeld, a regular in Bundesliga 2, stepped in to oversee his first match at the top level.

Union finally broke through in the sixth minute of added time, Tim Skarke tucking away a late lifeline. Any tension lasted seconds. With almost the final kick, Maximilian Wober stepped up and restored Schalke’s two-goal cushion, sealing a win that felt like a statement from the promoted side.

Mastantuono hat trick drags Fiorentina off the floor

In Serie A, two teams arrived with the same bleak record: three games, three defeats. Venezia struck first, but Fiorentina walked away with their first win of the season and a new hero.

Venezia’s opener was well-crafted. Gianluca Busio threaded play together from midfield and Akor Adams finished the move in the 22nd minute, guiding a right-foot shot into the corner.

That should have settled the hosts. Instead, it woke Fiorentina up.

Franco Mastantuono ripped the game away in the space of two minutes. First in the 29th, then again in the 30th, he burst forward and finished clinically, flipping the scoreline and sending Fiorentina into the break 2-1 up.

The visitors never really loosened their grip after that. Midway through the second half, Mateo Pellegrino struck for the second match running, stretching the lead to 3-1 and draining the belief out of Venezia.

Mastantuono wasn’t done. Six minutes from time he completed his hat trick, the defining performance of the night in Italy. Antoine Hainaut grabbed a late second for Venezia, but it barely softened the blow.

Venezia stayed rooted to the bottom of the 20-team table, still without a point. Fiorentina climbed to 15th and finally have something to build on.

Sevilla edge lifeless Valencia to climb

In Spain, Sevilla needed patience. Valencia needed almost everything else.

A flat contest at home eventually tilted Sevilla’s way as they beat Valencia 1-0 to move into joint second in La Liga. Clear chances were scarce, anxiety less so, until the breakthrough arrived nine minutes from time.

Giorgi Kochorashvili swung in a deep cross from the left. Juan Antonio Iglesias met it, his header looping over the goalkeeper and dropping in. Relief around the ground was instant.

Valencia offered no response. Not a single shot on target across the 90 minutes underlined their problems. With just one point from a possible 15, they sit bottom of the table and already look in trouble.

Relentless Rennes hit top spot in France

Over in Ligue 1, Rennes continued their charge and Marseille’s crisis deepened.

Rennes edged a 1-0 win that pushed them to the top of the table, one point clear of Monaco, and extended their run to three straight victories. Marseille, by contrast, slumped to a third consecutive league defeat and are enduring their worst start in more than two decades.

The decisive moment came six minutes into the second half. Adrien Thomasson, a recent arrival from Lens, found his first goal for the club, a finish that carried the weight of the occasion and the confidence of a side in form.

Rennes managed the game smartly from there. Marseille, stuck on three points and marooned in 11th, now face searching questions about where this season is heading.

West Ham run riot to go top

In England, West Ham turned a promotion race into a procession for one night at least.

They dismantled Wrexham 6-0 in the Championship, a ruthless display capped by the fact six different players found the net. No dependence on a single star, just wave after wave of contribution.

The result lifted West Ham to the top of the table, one point clear of West Bromwich Albion. For Wrexham, it was a brutal reminder of the gap they still have to close. For West Ham, it looked like the kind of performance that can define a season’s ambitions.