Inter left it very late to secure a win over newly promoted Lecce on the opening weekend of the 2022/23 Serie A season, with Denzel Dumfries finding the net deep into stoppage time.
Romelu Lukaku marked his return to Italian football with a dream start, scoring just two minutes into the contest at Stadio Via del mare in the far south east of the country.
The Belgian striker was in the right place at the right time to easily not into the net after Matteo Darmian had headed Federico Dimarco’s deep cross from the left back across the box.
Inter dominated possession and had far more attempts on goal than the hosts. Lautaro Martinez was also guilty of missing a big chance.
Lecce’s equaliser in the first few minutes of the second half was against the run of play, with Assan Ceesay driving at the Inter defence and playing a one-two with Federico Di Francesco and then squeezing the ball into the far corner from a relatively tight angle.
With four minutes of stoppage time signalled by the officials and only a few seconds remaining, it looked as though perennial yo-yo side Lecce, back in the top flight for the first time since 2020, had bagged themselves an impressive result.
But with one more Inter corner to defence, the resistance finally cracked. Martinez rose highest, heading the ball down towards the far post. Edin Dzeko went for it and actually missed it altogether, but Dumfries was closing behind him to turn the ball into the net.
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