The unexpected defeat at Bologna field in the previous round made Inter Milan almost out of the championship door. But the top 4 goal is still possible for teachers and students Simone Inzaghi. The 2-0 win over Lecce in round 25 helped Inter reclaim second place from Lazio and three points ahead of the fifth team AC Milan.
Lecce tried to break the circuit for eight games losing to Inter in all competitions, but only stood for half an hour. Robin Gosens passed to Nicolo Barella in the penalty area, letting the Italian midfielder handle it skillfully, sucking in a series of visitors before passing it on to Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The former Man Utd midfielder cut his heart and touched the high corner, opening the score in the 29th minute.
The two teams did not have many clear scoring opportunities in this match, because Lecce defended the majority and kicked discipline. However, Inter still created a safe gap at the beginning of the second half. Lautaro Martinez scored his seventh in the last nine games, with a one-touch kick in the 53rd minute.
The 2-0 victory helped Inter get 50 points, temporarily breaking up in the top 4 race. Lazio followed with 48 points, while AS Roma and AC Milan both had 47 points. Lecce could not improve 15th place, but still safe when nine points ahead of the group holding the red light.
Inter will be a guest at Spezia next week, before going to Portugal to play the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round with Porto. In the first leg, the Italian representative won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker came on at the end of the match against Lecce, but failed to score and is yet to become the fourth player to reach 50 goals in both Serie A and the Premier League. Three people who have done this are Gianfranco Zola, Edin Dzeko and Cristiano Ronaldo.