Lecce secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Torino in their Serie A clash on Sunday afternoon, thanks to first-half strikes from Lassana Coulibaly and Lameck Banda.
Although Che Adams pulled one back after the break and Kristjan Asllani later had a chance to equalise from the penalty spot in the dying minutes, the visitors were unable to rescue a point.
Lecce entered the match missing several key players, including Gaby Jean, Filip Marchwinski, Matias Perez and Balthazar Pierret.
Torino were also short-handed, with Ardian Ismajli, Giovanni Simeone and long-term absentee Perr Schuurs all sidelined.
The hosts struck twice in quick succession to take control of the match at the Via del Mare.
In the 20th minute, Medon Berisha’s corner was delivered into the six-yard box, where Coulibaly rose highest to nod home the opener.
Lecce doubled their lead moments later, with Berisha again at the heart of the action. After gliding past Cesare Casadei and driving to the edge of the box, the Albania international squared a low ball across goal for Banda, who arrived at the far post to tap in.
Torino responded shortly after the restart. Banda lost possession after a heavy touch and collided with Guillermo Maripan, allowing Nikola Vlasic to break forward from midfield.
He advanced to the edge of the area before laying the ball off to Adams, whose effort, helped by a significant deflection, found the far corner to reduce the deficit.
The visitors were handed a golden chance to draw level late on. Saul Coco was clipped by Tete Morente during a corner routine, prompting a lengthy three-minute VAR review before a penalty was finally awarded.
Asllani stepped up in the 90th minute, but his tame attempt, placed “halfway between the middle of the net and the corner”, was easily saved.
The victory marked Eusebio Di Francesco’s first home win since returning to the Lecce dugout, and only his third league triumph of the campaign.
The result lifts Lecce to 14th place, just one point and two spots behind Torino.
