Goals from Mkhitaryan and Lautaro seal a 2 - 0 win over Lecce

INTER 2-0 LECCE

Goalscorer: 29' Mkhitaryan (I), 53' Lautaro (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 36 Darmian, 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 2 Dumfries (33 D'Ambrosio 78'), 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu (5 Gagliardini 78'), 22 Mkhitaryan (77 Brozovic 71'), 8 Gosens (46 Zanotti 91'); 9 Dzeko, 10 Lautaro (90 Lukaku 71'). Substitutes: 1 Handanovic, 21 Cordaz, 6 De Vrij, 12 Bellanova, 14 Asllani, 45 Carboni. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

LECCE (4-3-3): 30 Falcone; 17 Gendrey, 13 Tuia (4 Romagnoli 65'), 93 Umtiti, 97 Pezzella; 32 Maleh (29 Blin 57'), 42 Hjulmand, 16 Gonzalez (14 Helgason 83'); 27 Strefezza (28 Oudin 57'), 77 Ceesay, 11 Di Francesco (22 Banda 83'). Substitutes: 1 Bleve, 21 Brancolini, 7 Askildsen, 9 Colombo, 18 Ceccaroni, 25 Gallo, 83 Lemmens, 84 Cassandro. Coach: Marco Baroni.

Added time: 3' - 3'

Referee: Manganiello. Assistants: Scatragli, Garzelli. Fourth official: Meraviglia. VAR: Nasca. VAR assistant: Volpi.

Bouncing back and getting back on track. This is exactly what Inter did today, entertaining a sell-out San Siro crowd with a dominant display. The Nerazzurri defeated Lecce 2-0 thanks to two well-taken goals scored by Mkhitaryan and Lautaro in each half. They came about following some lovely team play in a match that saw Inter do plenty of running, find the right spaces and display real quality on the ball. March has begun with an important victory that paves the way for the team's next encounters. First, there's the trip to La Spezia, and then an away match in Porto awaits.

Two fantastic first-time finishes. Two pieces of play befitting of champions. Two goals to seal the win. The Nerazzurri quickly took control of Inter vs. Lecce and, after scoring twice, slowed things down and managed the game comfortably. Nevertheless, there weren't too many clear-cut chances early on, despite Dzeko's lay-offs and the active participation of Gosens and Dumfries down the flanks.

Bastoni was also trying to contribute to Inter's attacking play, and, with Calhanoglu and Barella also heavily involved, there certainly weren't a lack of options for those on the ball. The 29th-minute opener was a fantastic team move: Lautaro dropped deep and sent Gosens racing down the wing, with the German then picking out Barella with his cross. After calmly dribbling with the ball, Nicolò laid it off for Mkhitaryan, who fired a fine right-footed strike into the top corner. A deserved 1-0 lead for Inter.

Lecce struggled to muster a response, even if, in Ceesay, they had a quick centre-forward capable of causing problems. As for the Nerazzurri, they knew they needed to score a second to all but kill off the match. And that is what they did at the start of the second half, once again making use of the full width of the pitch. Barella found Dumfries down the right and the Dutchman rolled it across for Lautaro, who powerfully swept home with an excellent near-post finish. Unstoppable. It was El Toro's 14th league goal this season, and he celebrated it alongside the Inter fans.

Knowing that they were well in command, the Nerazzurri slowed things down without allowing Lecce a way back into it. Gosens continued to put in a great shift, while the changes made by Inzaghi brought fresh energy. Lecce are certainly no walkovers and never gave up, with Blin and Hjulmand both having chances to reduce the arrears. They were, however, just momentary scares. 20-year-old Mattia Zanotti entered the fray late on for his first appearance of the season and second in a Nerazzurri shirt. The scoreline remained the same on an evening that had begun with some warm sun and finished with the moon illuminating a happy San Siro.

LIVE UPDATES

FULL-TIME: INTER 2-0 LECCE

Three minutes have been added on.

82' Lecce threaten as Hjulmand glances wide.

77' Di Francesco makes inroads down the left flank; his cross is turned wide by Blin at the near post.

68' Dzeko shoots across goal but Falcone gets down to make the stop.

66' Gosens is brought down by Blin in the area, but, after a silent VAR check, no penalty is given.

53' GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL! Dumfries rolls it across for Lautaro, who strikes first-time into the net! 2-0!

46' The second half kicks off.

LIVE UPDATES

HALF-TIME: INTER 1-0 LECCE

Three minutes have been added on.

37' Gendrey makes a crucial last-ditch intervention to stop Dumfries in his tracks.

34 Lecce try to respond as Gonzalez blasts over.

29' GOOOAAAALLLLLLLL! Mkhitaryan sweeps home Barella's assist! 1-0 to Inter!

27' Calhanoglu's long-range free-kick hits the wall. On the rebound, the Turk drills wide.

20' Dzeko meets Calhanoglu's corner and heads it narrowly wide.

17' Ceesay charges forward, skips past Darmian and lets fly with his left foot. Onana makes the save

8' Dzeko has a go from the edge of the box but fails to hit the target.

3' The first shot of the game comes from Calhanoglu, who stings Falcone's gloves from distance.

1' Away we go at San Siro!

MATCHDAY 25

Napoli 0-1 Lazio Monza 2-1 Empoli Atalanta 0-0 Udinese Fiorentina 2-1 Milan Spezia 0-0 Verona Sampdoria 0-0 Salernitana Inter 2-0 Lecce Roma vs. Juventus, 20:45 CET Sassuolo vs. Cremonese, Monday 18:30 CET Torino vs. Bologna, Monday 20:45 CET

TABLE

Napoli 65* Inter 50* Lazio 48* Milan 47* Roma 44 Atalanta 42* Juventus 35 (-15) Bologna 35 Udinese 32* Monza 32* Torino 31 Fiorentina 31* Empoli 28* Sassuolo 27 Lecce 27* Salernitana 25* Spezia 21* Verona 18* Cremonese 12 Sampdoria 12*

*One more game played