After their UEFA Champions League win over Atlético Madrid in midweek, and a tie with Atalanta to come on Wednesday, Simone Inzaghi made no less than eight changes to his starting line-up.
And it was a gamble which took just 15 minutes to pay off, as Kristjan Asllani burst through the middle and played a precise through ball to Lautaro Martínez, who beat the offside trap and slotted past Wladimiro Falcone.
When combined with the eventual clean sheet, that would also become Martínez’s third match-opening winner in his previous four strikes. But the spotlight then switched to fellow South American powerhouse Alexis Sánchez midway through the half, as he won the ball deep in Lecce territory and crossed for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Armenian dragged his shot just wide.
Two became three within a matter of seconds, as Frattesi picked the ball up on halfway, before sprinting unchallenged down the right and played the ball square to Martínez, who fired past Falcone for his second away-day brace this year alone.
Number four came with a little over a quarter of the match remaining, when centre-back Stefan de Vrij rose highest to meet Federico Dimarco’s corner for his first goal of the campaign.
