After suffering a shocking defeat to Bologna last week, Inter Milan got back on track this past Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Lecce in Serie A.
Inter, which had dropped to third, climbed back to second thanks to goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lautaro Martnez.
The Nerazzurri lead the tight race for Champions League spots by two points over Lazio and three over AC Milan. Six points behind Inter in fifth place, Roma faced off against Juventus later that day.
After a slow start at San Siro, Inter finally got on the board in the 29th minute when Robin Gosens raced down the left and crossed for Nicol Barella, who faked a shot before passing it across to Mkhitaryan, who swept it into the top right corner.
Eight minutes after halftime, Barella assisted on Inter’s second when he sent Denzel Dumfries down the right wing. He sent a pass into the box for Martnez to finish at the near post.
Lecce is safely nine points away from the basement.
Hellas Verona, who are fighting relegation, played to a scoreless draw away at fellow struggler Spezia, thanks in large part to the play of goalkeeper Simone Perilli, who was making his Serie A debut in the match.
Perilli, filling in for the ill Lorenzo Montip, made a spectacular save with two minutes left, tipping a shot by Kelvin Amian over the crossbar.
Spezia, who were still three points ahead of Verona and the bottom three, saw M’Bala Nzola score a goal and hit the post.
After a scoreless draw at home against Salernitana, Sampdoria remained in last place.
