Inter Milan earned their fourth straight Serie A win after beating Lecce 2-0 at San Siro.
The hosts had plenty of chances to go in front in the first half and Yann Aurel Bisseck finally made the breakthrough just before half-time.
Hamza Rafia had a header saved as Lecce searched for an equaliser, but Nicolo Barella doubled Inter’s lead and the visitors were reduced to 10 in the final stages when Lameck Banda was sent off.
Victory sees Inter stay top of the Serie A table by four points, while Lecce remain 12th.
Wladimiro Falcone was called into action early as Marcus Thuram fired a low cross into Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Lecce goalkeeper was able to clear the ball.
He made another solid save in the 18th minute when Carlos Augusto cut in from the left and had his shot from a tight angle blocked.
Inter should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when some great link-up play between Barella and Thuram allowed Barella to thread the ball through to Marko Arnautovic, who dragged his shot wide of the post from close range.
The hosts dominated in possession but Lecce had chances of their own. Remi Oudin sent in a great cross from the left but Banda could only head wide, before Antonio Gallo unleashed a powerful shot that flew over the bar.
Inter nearly opened the scoring in the 39th minute when Hakan Calhanoglu whipped in a corner and Bisseck’s strike smashed off the crossbar.
The defender made no mistake in the 42nd minute, though, as Calhanoglu fired a free-kick into the box and Bisseck was able to head into the bottom corner.
Lecce threatened early in the second half and they had a penalty overturned after a handball was incorrectly given when Valentin Gendrey’s strike was blocked by Carlos Augusto.
Banda had another crack with a low strike from outside of the area, but Yann Sommer made a comfortable save diving to his right, before Bisseck met another dangerous Calhanoglu cross and forced Falcone to tip his header over the bar.
Lecce had a great chance when Gallo did well to keep the ball in play and chipped the ball into the box but Rafia’s header was easily collected by Sommer.
ARTnautović #InterLecce pic.twitter.com/Fl7YwVVFnG
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 23, 2023
Inter doubled their lead in the 78th minute after some great awareness on the edge of the box saw Arnautovic backheel the ball to Barella and the midfielder fired the ball into the bottom corner.
Any chance of a comeback soon diminished for the visitors in the 83rd minute when they were reduced to 10 after Banda was sent off for dissent.
Inter continued their search for a third at the death and Falcone made an incredible double save in the 87th minute, clawing the ball off the goal line before making an acrobatic effort to tip Kristjan Asllani’s long-range effort over the bar.
