Rogers scores on Chelsea debut as Blues beat Fulham and Roma hammers Fiorentina

LONDON (AP) — Donyell Malen's hat trick got Roma off to a blistering Serie A start in a 4-0 win over Fiorentina and Chelsea delivered a perfect Premier League opening for new coach Xabi Alonso on Monday.

Chelsea beat Fulham 3-2 with the aid of a strike from club record signing Morgan Rogers.

Both La Liga games were tied; Malaga and Deportivo A Coruna drew 1-1 and Levante and Osasuna ended goalless.

Malen converted three passes from Paolo Dybala to score in the 27th, 52nd and 60th minutes and make Roma one of nine clubs with full points after the Serie A opening weekend. Substitute Niccolò Pisilli completed the rout four minutes from time.

Second half substitute Davide Frattesi scored five minutes into his Lazio debut to give the capital club a 1-0 win at Bologna.

In a game that featured few chances and eight yellow cards, five in the first half, Frattesi’s cool finish from Boulaye Dia’s superb backheeled pass, ensured a winning start for new Lazio coach Gennaro Gattuso.

The win was a relief for Gattuso, coming a week after his side's shock Italian Cup exit at the hands of Serie B club Mantova.

In an entertaining London derby, Brazilian João Pedro put Chelsea ahead in just 32 seconds only for Josh King to level midway through the first half. Rogers restored Chelsea’s lead four minutes from halftime and the impressive Cole Palmer made it 3-1 four minutes into the second period.

Gonzalo García cut the deficit five minutes later with a close-range header, and although Fulham poured forward in search of an equalizer it ended 3-2 to the visitor at Craven Cottage.

The result marked a satisfying start for Alonso but was a disappointment for his former Spain teammate Álvaro Arbeloa in the Fulham dugout.

In Spain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for the second consecutive game but it was not enough to give Deportivo A Coruna all three points against Malaga in a contest between promoted sides.

Aubameyang, who got his name on the scoresheet in last week’s 1-1 draw against Elche, took a superb throughball from Luismi Cruz and skipped round a static goalkeeper to put the home side ahead after 21 minutes.

However, Chupete equalized from the penalty spot 13 minutes later when Rafita Garrido was brought down by Lucas Noubi.

Earlier, Osasuna drew 0-0 with Levante. Levante's first point of the season followed an opening weekend defeat by Espanyol.

In the German Cup, Wolfsburg needed penalties to avoid a shock exit at the hands of fourth-tier Altglienicke. The Bundesliga club came from behind three times to leave it 3-3 after extra time and then scraped through 6-5 on penalties.

Schalke also survived a scare at fourth-tier Hallescher. The sides were tied 2-2 after 90 minutes but Schalke, newly returned to the Bundesliga after a three-year absence, scored three times in extra time to progress to the second round.

Cologne and Hamburg both won at third tier sides, Cologne beat Würzburger Kickers thanks to a brace from Isak Johannesson and Hamburg easily overcame Verl 3-0.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Hallescher's Vin Kastull, right, celebrates scoring with teammates during the German soccer cup match between Hallescher FC and FC Schalke 04 in Halle, Germany, Monday Aug. 24, 2026. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)

Chelsea's Jordan Henderson tackles Fulham's Oscar Bobb during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Chelsea in London, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Chelsea's Morgan Rogers celebrates after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Chelsea in London, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Roma's Donyell Malen celebrates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Roma and Fiorentina, in Rome, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Roma's Santigo Castro reacts after missing a scoring chance during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Roma and Fiorentina, in Rome, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Monday in a case over President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be implemented before the fast-approaching midterm elections.

The decision leaves room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump's order, and other similar cases have already been filed. The U.S. Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority didn’t decide the legality of Trump's order, instead ruling that the states did not have the legal right to challenge it.

“The Court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell,” the majority wrote in an unsigned order.

The three liberal-leaning justices publicly dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the rule “lets another shoe drop in the Kafkaesque nightmare that our precedents have been steadily creating for certain plaintiffs who seek to bring election-related challenges.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James foreshadowed more legal wrangling, calling the decision a “painful setback” but vowing it would “not be the final word.”

The court’s order opens a path for the administration to begin action to restrict mail voting, but it also could lead to a bevy of potential further litigation that could freeze the federal government again, all starting 10 days before the first mail ballots in the nation are scheduled to be sent to overseas and military voters from North Carolina.

“This is just the first inning of a very fast nine-inning game,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University.

Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump, who has claimed that it breeds fraud despite strong evidence to the contrary and his own use of the voting method.

Trump's executive order, signed in March, calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.

Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the order. They argued that the Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and Trump’s changes could lead to chaos and partisan abuse.

“The consequences of allowing such transformative changes to take effect so close to this fall’s elections would be extreme,” attorneys for the states wrote. Dozens of state and local election officials weighed in, asking the justices to leave the order frozen while election preparations are already underway.

A judge in Massachusetts blocked the plan for the midterm elections in those states. An appeals court upheld her decision. She later granted a second order blocking it nationwide, another potential stumbling block for Trump administration plan.

The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds in late July, arguing that the states sued too soon. They also pointed to another ruling out of Washington, where a judge allowed Trump’s order to proceed. An appeals court backed that decision, while still leaving room for future court action if the changes are implemented.

Federal attorneys argued that the Massachusetts order “blocks the government’s ability to finalize and implement the President’s proposed policies to promote election integrity for the upcoming federal elections in November.”

A dozen Republican-leaning states supported the federal government in their own appeal before the high court, saying states would have input on the final voter lists.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled against Trump-backed arguments on mail-in ballots, finding in June that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day. That case was decided after full briefing and arguments, rather than on the court’s emergency docket.

Trump has blamed mail voting — without credible evidence — for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting.

He’s also repeatedly pressed for the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote. Noncitizen voting has been shown to be rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.

Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.

Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this story.

An election worker sorts vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

An election worker places a vote-by-mail ballot into a secure bin at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office during the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)