New Delhi: Zlatan Ibrahimovic led the charge for his side with a majestic performance against the Salentini. The Sweden international scored as did Luis Figo and Dejan Stankovic. Inter Milan's Scudetto chase shows no sign of stopping.
Inter extend their lead at the top of the table thanks to an impressive and well fought win down in Lecce. The Nerazzurri started with a quick tempo and their pressure was too much for Mario Beretta's side.
The rest of the chasing pack were hoping the Salentini would do them a favour, but it wasn't to be as the home side just couldn't deal with a rampant Nerazzurri.
First Half
The game began brightly and it was nice to see Jose Mourinho share a joke and a smile with Mario Balotelli after all the tension between both men. Inter kicked off and their manner of play showed indicated that Lecce would be in for a busy night. Dejan Stankovic won a free kick from Polenghi. Luis Figo bent the ball into towards Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but the big striker failed to connect and the chance went begging.
Lecce replied with Castillo creating space down the left wing, but his cross was dealt with by Nicolas Burdisso who conceded a corner. Caserta swung the corner inwards and was unlucky not to score. Cesar was quick to react and saved himself and his team from embarrassment as he punched the ball away from harm.
Ibrahimovic was the lone ranger up front for Inter, but he turned provider for Stankovic. The striker exchanged quick passes with Maicon and crossed a delightful ball for the incoming Stankovic. However, the Serbian, who was all unmarked, managed to miss his header when it was easier to score. Inter kept on banging at the door and the relentless pressure began to see the Salentini panic.
A decent move involving Esteban Cambiasso and Ibrahimovic unlocked the Lecce defence. The Argentine midfielder showed intuition and insight as he fed the Sweden international the perfectly weighted pass.
'Ibra' looked offside but Esposito was found wanting at the back and he played the Inter man on as his team-mates raised their arms in vain. Ibrahimovic controlled, turned and placed his shot into the bottom left corner from close range. Benussi had no chance as the ball rippled the net.
The Nerazzurri were in cruise control. The home side threatened on rare occasions. All the play and danger coming through Tiribocchi and Castillo. Inter were grateful to Cesar. The Brazilian goalkeeper performed a miracle save from Gugliermo Stendardo's close range header to keep his side in the lead. Lecce pressed well as Mario Beretta screamed the orders from the bench, but Marco Materazzi and David Santon were on guard and on hand to minimise the danger.
Inter seemed to step off the gas after going ahead, but some poor finishing from Tiribocchi made it easy for the Milanese giants to keep their noses ahead.
Second Half
The home side restarted with a bang, but there was no celebration at the end of it as Papa Waigo was wrongly flagged for offside within seconds of the kick off. Caserta played a great ball over the top and the former Fiorentina striker ran through and would have equalised has the assistant referee not been flag-happy. Polenghi tried his luck from distance, but it was well wide as Lecce threatened. Inter were in control though and kept the Giallorossi at bay.
Beretta's side began to get into their rhythm. Tiribocchi managed to flick on Caserta's cross into the path of Castillo who beat Materazzi to the ball and was about to pull the trigger before Cesar launched himself towards the ball to smother the danger. Jose Mourinho was not impressed as he saw his side begin to show some weaknesses at the back. Down the other end Maicon was guilty of missing chance of the season as he blazed over from four yards out.
The Brazilian defender capitalise after a mix-up between Lecce players following Figo's wicked free-kick. However, the stopper was unable to keep his composure and slide home. It was miss of the season when it looked easier to score.
The Nerazzurri did put the game beyond Lecce when Figo popped up to meet Davide Santon's cross and head home. The left back did well to cut back and showed he also has a right foot. His pinpoint assist found the Portuguese ace and he made no mistake by guiding the ball into the net with elegance and panache.
Stankovic also go in on the scoring act and made up for his earlier mistake by latching onto Maicon's free kick from the right. The Serbian beat everyone to the ball and headed it into the top corner as Inter continue to speed towards the Scudetto.
Mourinho was delighted with his team's performance as he punched the air with joy following the final whistle. Lecce meanwhile will look back on failing to take their chances as they continue to struggle down at the bottom side of the table.
Teams
Lecce 4-3-3: Benussi, Polenghi, Stendardo, Fabiano, Esposito, Ariatti, Caserta, Edinho (Papadopoulos), Papa Waigo (Zanchetta), Castillo, Tiribocchi (Cacia).
Inter 4-3-2-1: Cesar, Maicon, Burdisso, Materazzi, Santon, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari (Muntari), Figo (Chivu), Stankovic, Ibrahimovic (Balotelli).
Goals: Ibrahimovic, Figo, Stankovic.
Cards: Ibrahimovic (Inter/Yellow), Esposito (Lecce/Yellow), Tiribocchi (Lecce/Yellow)
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