Inter Milan close gap further in Serie A

AC Milan eased off, but Inter didn't and Pazzini was the one to start the climb back, his 52nd minute goal taking Inter to within 2 points of the leaders, and bringing victory to the Nerazzurri in the match against Lecce in Week 30 of Serie A. Lecce didn't come here to lose however, and towards the end of the match grew in stature. At the end, Julio Cesar had all his past errors forgiven when he managed to keep out a close-range blast from Bertolacci with a marvellous save.

For the match against Lecce, Leonardo couldn't play Cordoba, who was banned, but Zanetti had recovered and took his place on the left of the defence, with Maicon on the right and the Lucio-Chivu duo in the centre. Cambiasso and Motta were in midfield with Sneijder feeding the attacking trio Pandev-Pazzini-Eto'o.

After 4 minutes Inter had two attempts on goal, the first from Pazzini who didn't really get hold of the ball and then Sneijder, but his chance was wasted. The Dutchman tried again a minute later, after Pandev's deep cross, but his shot on the turn didn't cause problems for Rosati. In the 17th minute, Lecce showed they could be dangerous, penetrating the area with Brivio and Corvia whose left-footed shot on the turn went just wide. Sneijder is always dangerous when it comes to free-kicks and this was no exception. In the 20th minute his curling right-footed shot was just wide. Then Chivu made a superb challenge on Bertolacci at the edge of the penalty area in the 33rd minute and Maicon blocked the Lecce midfielder's left-footed effort in the 36th.

After two minutes of stoppage time, the teams went in for the interval with the score at 0-0. There was a lot of action but few shots on target. The first half of Inter v Lecce was well-balanced, but the team from Puglia showed that they were not afraid to attack.

During the break, the Nerazzurri Under-19 team who won the 2011 Viareggio tournament did a lap of the pitch with the trophy and the champions of the future received a long, heartfelt ovation from the stands.

The second half got underway and after just 2 minutes Lucio received a booking for handball which means he will be disqualified for the derby against AC Milan. In the 51st minute Rosati's marvellous save denied Inter the lead after Sneijder crossed and found Pazzini's head. Pazzo came close but the goal arrived a minute later: an assist from Pandev, Pazzini trapped the ball on his chest and, although he was being challenged by Vives, beat Rosati, placing the ball right-footed into the corner of the net. Rosati was then booked for protesting about a hypothetical handball on the part of the Nerazzurri striker, in the lead-up to the goal. In the 73rd minute, Pandev came off for Coutinho. And as captain Zanetti raced down the wing like a 20-year-old, in spite of the constant pressure from Tomovic, who was later booked by referee Orsato, Inter tried to break down the Lecce wall with constant attacks, including attempts from Cambiasso first and then Coutinho (on 80 minutes). Chivu's nasty foul on Bertolacci earned Lecce a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, which Olivera duly wasted, blasting against the wall on 81 minutes. In the 84th, Julio Cesar's great save from Bertolacci's close-range shot following Olivera's cross almost counted as another goal for Inter.

 After 3 minutes of added time, Orsato blew his whistle to end the match: Inter didn't waste the opportunity after AC Milan had lost to Palermo in yesterday's evening kick-off and move up to 60 points, just two behind the Rossoneri. Eyes now will be turning towards Saturday 2 April, when Rossoneri and Nerazzurri face each other at the Stadio Meazza.