Serie A | Inter 1-0 Lecce – Pio Esposito & Zielinski impress in nervy Nerazzurri win

Inter did what they needed to do but were generally unremarkable in their 1-0 victory over Lecce at San Siro.

Football Italia’s Player of the Match was Inter midfielder Piotr Zielinski.

Inter 1-0 Lecce – Player Ratings

Inter: Sommer 6; Akanji 6, Acerbi 6.5, Bastoni 7.5; Diouf 6 (Luis Henrique 6), Barella 7 (Frattesi 6), Zielinski 7.5, Mkhitaryan 6.5 (Lautaro 6), Augusto 7; Thuram 6.5, Bonny 5.5 (Pio Esposito 7.5)

Best Inter player: Piotr Zielinski – Playing as regista in the stead of Hakan Calhanoglu’s absence, the Pole continued his impressive revival under Cristian Chivu with another orchestral performance in the heart of midfield.

MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 14: Francesco Pio Esposito of FC Internazionale Milano is challenged by Santiago Pierotti of US Lecce during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and US Lecce at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on January 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Lowest Inter rating: Ange-Yoan Bonny – Played just under an hour but failed to really stamp his mark on the game. Chivu’s decision to replace him with Pio Esposito was a good call and the young Frenchman will be looking to improve in future appearances.

Coach: Cristian Chivu 6.5 – His side did enough to come away with the three points and the coach’s substitutions bore fruit when Pio Esposito scored the decisive goal.

Lecce: Falcone 7.5; Veiga 7, Siebert 6, Gabriel 6, Gallo 7; Coulibaly 6.5, Maleh 6.5; Pierotti 5.5 (N’Dri 6), Gandelman 5.5 (Kaba 6), Sottil 6 (Morente 6); Stulic 6

Best Lecce player: Wladimiro Falcone – The Lecce goalkeeper made six saves tonight and nearly put in a POTM performance to secure his side a point before Pio Esposito’s late winner. Falcone made some outstanding saves and was unfortunate not to have a clean sheet.

MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 14: Ange-Yoan Bonny controls the ball whilst under pressure from Jamil Siebert of US Lecce and teammates during the Serie A match at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on January 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Lowest Lecce rating: Omri Gandelman – A debut to forget for the Israeli, who was beaten time and time again by Inter’s defensive set-up, giving him no room at all to breathe. Was on the end of a lot of long balls and struggled to win many, before being taken off with 20 minutes to go.

Coach: Eusebio Di Francesco 6.5 – Nearly masterminded an impressive result at San Siro, and set his side up in the best possible way to do it, but was overwhelmed by Inter’s pure quality.