Inter Milan maintained their imperious Serie A form, claiming a seventh straight victory after two late second-half goals secured a 2-0 triumph over Lecce at the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero.
The win also marked Inter’s eighth consecutive head-to-head victory against the Salentini under Cristian Chivu.
After a heavy midweek defeat in the Arctic Circle, Chivu made seven changes for this challenging journey across Italy, yet his side quickly established control.
Lecce, buoyed by their first back-to-back wins of the season, suffered an early setback when Kialonda Gaspar was forced off through injury trying to block a Marcus Thuram effort.
His replacement, Jamil Siebiert, made an instant impact, producing a crucial goal-line clearance in the 10th minute. Federico Dimarco’s cross met Luis Henrique unmarked, and although the Brazilian’s volley seemed destined for the corner, Siebiert reacted sharply to deny him after a Falcone parry.
Falcone himself kept Lecce in the contest with several key saves, notably stopping Francesco Esposito, meaning the hosts were fortunate to remain level at halftime, having only registered a single off-target effort in the first 45 minutes.
Inter thought they had broken the deadlock early in the second half when Thuram’s low shot was bundled over the line by Dimarco, but the goal was chalked off for offside.
Sensing the importance of taking control, Chivu turned to his bench after the hour mark, making four tactical substitutions.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan justified his inclusion in the 75th minute, finishing expertly from Dimarco’s corner for his second league goal of the season.
With the breakthrough, Inter’s confidence soared, and the second goal followed shortly after. Another Dimarco corner caused chaos in the Lecce box, allowing Manuel Akanji to power home a header, sealing the 2-0 victory.
The win keeps the pressure on title rivals AC Milan and Napoli, who must respond in their matches tomorrow, while Lecce remain precariously in 17th, three points clear of the relegation zone, with two of the bottom three yet to play this gameweek.
