A muscleman fires Inter to a hard-fought victory

Patience pays off: Inter have extended their lead in the Serie A standings. The difference in a hard-fought match on Wednesday evening was made by "muscleman" Pio Esposito.

14 January 2026

From: never

While tens of thousands of fans went wild at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, he remained cool and flexed his muscles: Pio Esposito clearly enjoyed his moment in the spotlight during the 1-0 victory against Lecce. In the 78th minute, the 20-year-old striker first laid the ball off for Lautaro Martínez in the opposing penalty area, only to then bundle it over the line himself after a save by goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone. The deadlock was broken, Inter were in the lead – and Esposito was on the scoresheet for the second time this season.

Inter struggled for much of Wednesday evening's match against underdog Lecce. As expected, the Nerazzurri were the better side than the 17th-placed team, but Marcus Thuram and his teammates lacked creativity and clinical finishing in front of goal. After the introduction of Martínez and Esposito, Inter finally became more threatening in attack and fulfilled their duty – and were richly rewarded for it.

Close offside: Napoli's celebrations are short-lived

Before the league leaders, defending champions Napoli were in action at home against Parma – and had to share the points for the third time in a row. After recent draws against Hellas Verona (2-2) and Inter Milan (2-2), they managed a lackluster 0-0 draw against the 14th-placed team from Emilia-Romagna. Although the ball was in the back of the net after just eleven minutes, Napoli's celebrations were short-lived. Pasquale Mazzocchi, who provided the assist, was offside with his shoulder just before Scott McTominay's apparent opening goal. The goal was disallowed after a VAR review.

Napoli suffered a setback in the title race. © APA/afp / CARLO HERMANN

It would prove to be the only moment Napoli came close to securing three points. Despite their superior play, the home side simply couldn't find a way through Parma's tenacious defense. Playing in front of their home crowd, the Azzurri were left frustrated – and later that evening had to watch as Inter extended their lead to six points.