Inter dominated and won the game at San Siro to maintain their 2nd position in the league. A lovely combination from Barella and Mkhitaryan saw Inter scoring their first goal And Lautaro increasing the lead later on.
Three players were changed from Inter’s 1-0 loss to Bologna last week by Simone Inzaghi. Lukaku was benched in favour of Dzeko and Martinez up front, and De Vrij and Brozovic were swapped out for Acerbi and Barella, respectively.
Lecce also changed three things from their defeat to Sassuolo. Federico Baschirotto was replaced by Umtiti in the centre of the defence, and Gonzalez and Di Francesco were also selected to the starting lineup.
Quickly assuming control of possession were the hosts. After a protracted period in Lecce territory, Calhanoglu received a kind breakaway and unleashed a 20-yard strike that Falcone was compelled to deflect to safety.
Martinez eventually received a deep free kick that ricocheted after Inter continued to apply early pressure. Martinez attempted to take a shot, but Tuia blocked him with a perfectly timed sliding challenge. The Argentina international, however, required assistance after being intercepted during the follow-through.
Lecce made a good first move forward, and Maleh received the ball inside the box. However, the Inter defence quickly surrounded him and eliminated the threat.
The quick-thinking Tuia intercepted a dangerous cross from Dumfries and sent it behind for a corner as Inter quickly countered down the right.
Dzeko released Barella on the right side with a deft touch. Gonzalez headed away the dangerous cross from Barella before he could get to the far post, where Gosens was arriving.
Lecce stole the item, giving Ceesay room to flee. When the forward finally released his shot from 25 yards out, Onana was compelled to dive to stop it from sneaking into the bottom corner.
When Dzeko met Calhanoglu’s corner with his head while unmarked, the striker sent the ball wide of the goal. It appeared that Gendrey was doing just about enough to deter him.
Dumfries signalled that it would attempt to attack from the right flank once more. The Netherlands international lost his footing, however, and the threat was neutralised by Tuia.
In 29th minute, Gosens was set free on the counter by a deft Martinez maneuver. He swept the ball into Barella, who deftly set Mkhitaryan up for a goal from just inside the box, guiding it into the top corner. Barella displayed brilliant deception and composure to maintain possession despite pressure from the Lecce defence that was regaining control before setting it up for Mkhitaryan to finish beautifully.
Gonzalez was discovered in space after Lecce called for a quick response. The midfielder cannot resist even though he is 30 yards from the goal, but his optimistic effort was constantly rising well over the crossbar.
After being sent on his way by a deft touch from Dzeko, Dumfries suddenly burst into the Lecce area. But Gendrey came up with a perfectly timed sliding challenge to halt him.
Dzeko and Dumfries executed a deft one-two before the striker whipped in an aggressive cross. Martinez’s header is connected in the area, but it cannot be kept down.
Thanks to the captain, the hosts increased their lead by twofold. Dumfries was released in a clever play to the right. The wingback sent in a low cross, which Martinez expertly steered in.
Inter gained possession of the ball thanks to a strong press and immediately launched an attack. Lecce recovered to block a cross from the right that Barella whipped in.
Oudin got involved right away at the other end, as his long shot was deflected for a corner from behind. However, the threat was ultimately unfounded because Ceesay overhit his cross.
Gosens was brought to the ground by Blin’s challenge, and Inter demanded a penalty. The wing-back remained on the ground, but the referee decided not to point to the spot after consulting with VAR.
To stop Lukaku from catching a throughball, Falcone sprinted out of the goal. But after that, the offside flag was raised.
Lecce attempted to respond to a sustained period of Inter pressure by building a deft move down the left flank, but were unable to ultimately turn the ball in the direction of goal and that summed up the whole game for Lecce.
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