Montreal’s Ismael Cajazzo helped Mantova pull off a stunning upset of Lazio in the Coppa Italia, while Cyle Larin kept scoring even in a Southampton defeat and Alfie Jones made his long-awaited return to the Middlesbrough lineup.
Here’s a look at Canadians in Europe over the weekend.
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Ismael Cajazzo, Mantova
A full-back from Montreal was a big part of a massive upset in the Coppa Italia’s Round of 64 on Sunday that has already heaped pressure on new Lazio manager Rino Gattuso. The Biancocelesti fell 2-0 to Serie B side Mantova with Ismael Cajazzo getting on the scoresheet. The 22-year-old Cajazzo is in his first season with Mantova, signing from Serie C side Casarano.
Taking over from Maurizio Sarri, who left for Atalanta, Gattuso was leading Lazio out in his first competitive fixture as manager. It was also Gattuso’s first match in charge since his Italy side fell to Bosnia and Herzegovina last spring to miss out on a third consecutive World Cup. Needless to say, the spotlight on the former Milan midfielder is already turned up brightly.
Mantova frustrated their hosts for much of the first half and then went ahead in the 75th against the run of play. Breaking forward through Simone Trimboli, the midfielder went wide to substitute Davide Bragatini in space. Completely unmarked, Francesco Ruocco sprinted towards the far post where he poked home Bragatini’s fine cross to make it 1-0 and stun the crowd at Stadio Olimpico.
But Mantova wasn’t finished and wanted to put an exclamation mark on the match. From a Lazio corner in stoppage, Mantova ‘keeper Francesco Bardi punched the ball downfield. With Lazio having sent everybody forward, including goalkeeper Christos Mandas, the break was on the other way. Bragatini sent a ball around Reda Belahyane for Cajazzo to meet just outside the area. The Montrealer then strolled towards the empty net to slot home and wrap up the massive upset.
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Cyle Larin, Southampton
Things have changed greatly for Southampton as the Championship season got underway this weekend. Saints ended last season with a 19-match unbeaten run in the league to shoot up the table and into the playoffs. They begin this season as the league’s top villains with rival fans hoping for their continued downfall.
Saints’ Premier League dream ended this past spring in the most controversial of fashions. After advancing to the Championship playoff final where they were set to play Hull City at Wembley, Tonda Eckert’s side was booted from the competition. An investigation was initiated after a Southampton analyst was caught surveilling Middlesbrough training ahead of their semi-final tie. During the investigation, Saints admitted to spying on other opponents during the season. As punishment, they were expelled from the final (that the Tigers won over a reinstated Boro) and docked four points, beginning their new season with a -4 deficit.
The new season began with a trip to Watford and with Cyle Larin in tow for good. The Canada striker joined the team on a permanent move from Mallorca after spending the second half of last season at St. Mary’s on loan. The 31-year-old Brampton native hit the ground running in England, notching eight goals in 16 league appearances.
Larin, who scored twice for Canada at this summer’s World Cup, was handed a start at Vicarage Road against the Hornets. Coming off of a 16th-place finish last season, it was the hosts who got things started early. By the half-hour mark, Saints couldn’t recover.
After an early chance for Southampton went for naught, disaster struck for the visitors in the 12th after a bad giveaway and some poor defending. Near midfield, Jack Stephens attempted some kind of pass back inside of his own half, but it was weighted all wrong and was deflected by Mamadou Doumbia. The ball fell right into the path of Iker Bravo, who ran at goal.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis came out to challenge, but he was cut inside of far too easily as James Bree attempted to close down Bravo. Coming off of his line to challenge, Daniel Peretz got a piece of Bravo’s low drive, yet it wasn’t enough as it skipped over the line to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. It was an entirely avoidable goal for Southampton.
The hosts would go two up in the 29th with the play started again by a poor giveaway from Southampton. As Saints pressed forward, Ryan Manning’s attempted pass to Leo Scienza caught him flat-footed and was intercepted by Amin Nabizada, who got on his horse. Sprinting at goal, Nabizada used the run of Doumbia as a dummy and beat Peretz with a low drive at the near post to make it 2-0. To take nothing away from a fine solo effort from Nabizada, questions can certainly be asked of the way Peretz handled that shot.
Saints would pull one back in the 58th through Larin, who also scored in last week’s League Cup win over Colchester. Cameron Bragg came up the middle and passed the ball forward to Larin whose back was to goal. He attempted to backheel the ball to throw off his marker with the ball deflected right back to Bragg. Larin dropped back slightly to create some space just inside the area, got the ball back from Bragg and stabbed home a low shot with the outside of his right boot for a nice finish.
Minutes later, a deflected ball landed right at Larin, who fired at goal. This time, Federico Ravaglia was there to make a diving stop and preserve the Watford lead. It was as close as Saints would come with the hosts holding on for the 2-1 win.
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Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough
Alfie Jones didn’t score on Saturday. He didn’t make any great plays, either. Frankly, his impact on Middlesbrough’s thrilling 2-1 season-opening victory over Lincoln City was negligible.
What was remarkable about Jones’s appearance, though, was that it finally happened. For the first time in 2026, the Canada centre-back got into a Championship match. It was the 28-year-old Jones’ first match back in a Boro shirt since Boxing Day.
Having started every match of last season up until Dec. 26, Jones incurred a severe ankle injury during a 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers. The injury would end his season and force the Bristol, England native to undergo surgery. He would briefly return to action in Canada’s 2-0 friendly victory over Uzbekistan in June. Playing 21 minutes, Jones experienced a muscular issue and found himself unavailable for any of Canada’s five matches at the World Cup.
His appearance on Saturday was just a cameo. Brought on in the second minute of stoppage right after Will Lankshear’s second goal of the match gave Boro a 2-1 lead, Jones saw out the victory and the final minutes of the game. Still, considering how much of a key part of Boro’s backline Jones was last season ahead of the injury, his return will buoy manager Kim Hellberg, who has a busy fixture schedule ahead, including next Saturday’s visit to Blackburn Rovers.
