Scudetto holders Inter surrendered a lead in stoppage time last time out, dropping two points to Genoa in their Serie A curtain-raiser as a result. An instant response was therefore required here, and fortunately for the San Siro home crowd, they were celebrating the game’s opener within five minutes of kick-off.
A searching cross from Federico Dimarco found Mehdi Taremi, who nodded the ball into the ground for Matteo Darmian to loop a header in at the back post.
Inter have now netted first in each of the last seven meetings, and they almost doubled that lead soon after, with Wladimiro Falcone equal to Dimarco's effort.
The hosts were dominant in the first period, albeit without adding to their early goal, something which they swiftly set about changing after the restart. A chaotic passage of play led to some pinball in the Lecce penalty area, but that ultimately came to nothing as the Nerazzurri continued to probe.
The Salentini had produced precious little going forward, and by the time Inter were awarded a penalty just over 20 minutes from time, the visitors were yet to hit the target.
Having been hauled to the ground, Marcus Thuram was visibly thrilled when Davide Di Marco pointed to the spot, leaving Hakan CalhanoGlu to convert with ease.
From there, the reigning champions remained in control to see out a relatively straightforward victory. Dropped points here would have made Inter just the fourth Scudetto holder since 1994/95 to begin a Serie A campaign without a win in their opening two fixtures.
Luckily for Simone Inzaghi, his side instead claimed a fifth straight head-to-head win ahead of a potentially tough game against Atalanta next.
Lecce, meanwhile, continue to prop up the table with a -6 GD and no goals scored thus far – a goalless streak that stretches back to last season and now spans five league games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan)