September 8: First Manager Sacked in Europe's Top Five Leagues Confirmed! Fiorentina's Last-Place Start Costs Grosso His Job, Pressure Moves to Lampard

Grosso has been sacked. The first manager to lose his job in Europe's top five leagues this season has been confirmed.

Serie A had only played three rounds, but Fiorentina had already taken action. In the early hours of September 7 Beijing time, the club officially announced the termination of Fabio Grosso's role as first-team head coach.

Three straight defeats. They lost to Roma, Frosinone and Torino, scoring one goal and conceding nine, with zero points and sitting bottom. This was only the second time in Fiorentina's history that they had suffered three consecutive defeats at the start of a Serie A season; the previous occasion was the 1935-36 campaign, 91 years ago.

Grosso had only taken charge in June. In total, he had been in the role for less than three months before his league campaign ended after three matches.

Interestingly, just the day before, Grosso had sounded firm after the match: “I will not resign voluntarily. My future will be decided by the club.” But before the words had even settled, the management had made the decision for him.

The calls from the stands for him to leave were heard by the club, and they acted on them.

This season marks Fiorentina's 100th anniversary. For this special year, they spent €150 million in the summer transfer window and signed 15 players. Real Madrid loanee Mastantuono, valued at €45 million by Transfermarkt, played three Serie A matches with 0 goals and 0 assists. The €150 million spending and nine goals conceded in three games do not make good reading together.

Now, regarding the successor. Italian media have mentioned unemployed Thiago Motta as one of the candidates. Motta has not managed again since leaving Juventus in March 2025.

With Grosso gone, the pressure has now shifted to the Premier League.

Frank Lampard's Coventry are in a very similar situation. They are also promoted newcomers, also spent more than £100 million on summer reinforcements, and have also started with three defeats — an away 0-3 loss to Arsenal, a home 0-1 defeat to Hull City, and an away 0-1 loss to Manchester City. The scores look slightly better than Fiorentina's, but they are also bottom with zero points, and most importantly, they have not scored a single goal.

Lampard has not been dismissed. He only renewed his contract with the club until 2029 in January this year, and last season he led the team to the Championship title and promotion with an 11-point advantage. His achievements are still recognized. But in the Premier League, few fail to learn from past lessons.

After the 0-1 away defeat to Manchester City, Lampard was actually quite satisfied after the match. He said the players executed the plan well, defensive organization was in place, and they created three excellent chances. He was disappointed not to take points. His biggest frustration was actually the home defeat to Hull City: “We should not have lost that game; we gave away a counter-attacking goal ourselves.”

After consecutive away defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City, Lampard said they were acceptable — “On paper, these are the toughest games you will face during the entire season.” What truly troubled him was failing to beat Hull City at home. That match should have been an opportunity to earn points.

But the reality is that after three rounds, Coventry's name remains at the bottom of the table, and the goals column is still zero. Lampard said the team is still adapting, new signings are not fully fit yet, and he will not become overly frustrated by such a start. Those words sound familiar — Grosso said something similar two days earlier.

That may be what he says, but matches still have to be played one by one. After the international break, the schedule will not wait. The investment of £100 million and the return of zero goals in three matches is an equation that both fans and the club can calculate.

Grosso has become the first domino to fall. Whether Lampard feels the pressure coming his way is something only he knows.