Inter Milan 2-0 Lecce: Inter stay four points clear at the top

Inter Milan won 2-0 at home against Lecce in Serie A on Saturday, regaining a four-point lead at the top of the table thanks to goals from Yann Bisseck and Nicolo Barella.

Inter have 44 points after 17 games, four more than Juventus, who beat Frosinone 2-1 on Saturday. Lecce remained in 12th place with 20 points.

Lecce had a chance to keep Inter scoreless until halftime, but Yann Bisseck scored his first goal for the club in the 43rd minute, heading home a free kick whipped in by Hakan Calhanoglu.

The 23-year-old defender had earlier volleyed a corner onto the crossbar.

Lecce thought they had a penalty four minutes after the break, but a VAR check overturned the referee's decision for a handball offence.

After Lecce applied sustained pressure in the second half, the home side found a second goal in the 78th minute when Barella combined with Marko Arnautovic to calm Inter nerves.

The pair exchanged passes, and Marko Arnautovic produced a backheel to put the ball into the path of Barella, who calmly took a touch before slotting his effort past Wladimiro Falcone.

Following the goal, an visibly emotional Arnautovic collapsed to his knees and was surrounded by his teammates.

When Lameck Banda was sent off for dissent in the 83rd minute, Lecce were reduced to 10 men, and Inter pushed for more goals but were denied by a fantastic double-save by Falcone on Benjamin Pavard and Kristjan Asllani two minutes from time.

Inter, who were eliminated from the Coppa Italia by Bologna on Wednesday, won their fourth consecutive league game, and Simone Inzaghi's team are now unbeaten in 11 Serie A games. Lecce suffered their first defeat in six matches.

SportsLigue