Inter Milan earned a well-deserved away win at US Lecce and remains close on the heels of SSC Naples. The Nerazzurri also mastered a brief pressure phase from the hosts with flying colors.
Since both leaders Napoli (2:1 against Juve) and Inter pursuers Bergamo (2:1 in Como) had fulfilled their tasks, the Nerazzurri had to follow suit early on Sunday evening. Compared to the 1-0 Champions League victory at Sparta Prague, coach Simone Inzaghi made four changes, bringing on Darmian, Frattesi, Zielinski and Carlos Augusto to start in place of Pavard, Barella, Asllani and Dimarco (all on the bench).
The home side from Lecce, meanwhile, remain in the relegation battle after losing 4-1 at Cagliari Calcio last time out. However, for coach Marco Giampaolo, this was no reason to change his starting lineup.
Thuram assists Frattesi – Inter miss the 2-0
The visitors set the tone early on – and they put the ball in the net early on. In fact, Inter needed just one chance to take a 1-0 lead from close range through Frattesi. Assist provider Thuram had rounded Baschirotto and set up the early lead perfectly (6′).
While the game was largely evenly balanced after that, it was almost exclusively the Milanese who created attacking opportunities. Since Thuram missed from close range (21) and both Carlos Augusto’s (24) and Frattesi’s second goal (25) were disallowed for offside, the narrow lead remained for the time being.
Lautaro increases the lead, Lecce misses the chance to catch up
In the 39th minute, however, the visitors were to be rewarded for their efforts when Lautaro netted to make it 2-0. With a lot of force, the Argentine put the ball irresistibly into the top right corner from around 16 meters.
The visitors were unable to build on their previous performance in the early stages of the second half. Instead, it was the hosts who had clearly been inspired by the words of coach Giampaolo at half-time. The US side pushed forward for ten minutes but failed to score, with Krstovic (55′) among those to miss the target.
Taremi scores for the first time in the league
In the immediate aftermath, it became clear what distinguishes a top team like Inter from a relegation candidate like Lecce. In the midst of the US pressure phase, Lautaro served Dumfries on the half-right in the penalty area, enabling him to make the final decision with his left (57′).
The Nerazzurri were back in control from then on and even managed to extend their lead to 4-0 through Taremi from the penalty spot (61′ min). Prior to that, Frattesi had been brought down by goalkeeper Falcone, who thus enabled the Iranian’s first Serie A goal.
