JAKARTA - It's a shame for defender Alessandro Bastoni who was the target of jeers when Inter Milan beat Lecce 2-0 in an Italian Serie A match at the Via del Mare Stadium, Sunday, February 22, 2026 WIB. The victory also helped Inter leave their city rivals, AC Milan.
Bastoni's diving in the Derby d'Italia against Juventus last week left a bad record for the Inter player. In the action, Bastoni deliberately fell and rolled over even though there was no contact with Juve player Pierre Kalulu.
But the referee who escaped from observation made a fatal mistake by giving a red card to Kalulu. Moreover, he refused to review the incident through VAR and ignored Kalulu's explanation.
Ironically, in the replay it was clear that Kalulu did not commit any foul. Bastoni also just fell down and it benefited the team because they could win 3-2.
Ironically, Inter coach Cristian Chivu still defended his players and said there was a touch between the two players that made Bastoni fall.
Chivu's statement received a response and criticism from Juve legend Alessandro del Piero. Moreover, there was an insistence from the Italian football public that national team coach Gennaro Gattuso no longer include Bastoni in the Gli Azzurri squad.
Due to public pressure and the action going viral throughout this week, Bastoni had no choice but to apologize publicly. Bastoni's actions clearly tarnished the face of Inter and Chivu, who had previously defended his players to the end.
Not stopping there, during the match against Lecce, he was still the target of jeers. Throughout the match, the 26-year-old defender was always shouted by Lecce supporters whenever he had the ball. This did not make Chivu back to defend his players.
"In my opinion, this is already excessive. I appreciate his professional attitude as a defender and a human being who realizes his mistakes. He also apologized for what he did," Chivu said as quoted by Football Italia.
"He really just wants to take care of the team. What is clear is that everything is over and in fact it is not important for me," he said again.
In the match against Lecce who played with high spirits to stay away from the relegation zone, Inter had to work hard. Inter, who lost captain Lautaro Martinez due to an injury when Inter was defeated by Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in the first playoff of the Champions League, had difficulty breaking through Lecce's defense.
However, Inter still dominated and striker Marcus Thuram had threatened the home team's goal when the match was less than a minute. But his efforts could still be thwarted by Kialonda Gaspar's defender.
Furthermore, Thuram got another chance when he passed Federico Dimarco's free kick. Inter's next opportunity was obtained by Francesco Pio Esposito. However, his kick hit midfielder Ylber Ramadani so that it failed to reach the target.
Pio Esposito actually got a second chance to score. But this time goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone managed to make a brilliant save with one hand. The score remained unchanged until halftime.
In the second half, Inter continued to play offensively. They threatened Lecce's goal when Davide Frattesi greeted the corner kick in the early minutes of the match. Only nothing greeted his header so Inter failed to score again.
After many failed attempts, Dimarco finally scored after receiving a pass from Thuram in the 51st minute. However, the goal was annulled because Thuram was in an offside position before finishing the pass.
Inter finally overcame the deadlock when Henrikh Mkhitaryan managed to break the Lecce goal. The goal started from Dimarco's corner kick which was actually successfully thrown away by the host players. Only the ball was then received by Mkhitaryan who fired a hard shot without being saved by goalkeeper Falcone.
Losing 1-0 through a goal created in the 75th minute made Lecce try to rise to equalize the score. Unfortunately, the team coached by Eusebio Di Francesco did not produce results.
On the other hand, Inter managed to add a goal that solidified the advantage. This time, defender Manuel Akanji increased the I Nerazzurri's advantage when welcoming Dimarco's corner kick. With his tall body, Akanji managed to win the aerial duel and headed the ball that broke into the Lecce goal in the 82nd minute.
The score changed 2-0 for Inter. There were no additional goals until the end of the match. The victory confirmed Inter's position at the top with 64 points. 10 points ahead of Milan who are in second place and have one game left.
Meanwhile, Lecce is in 17th place or one strip above the relegation zone with 24 points. They are only three points ahead of Fiorentina who are in the red zone.
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