Lecce boss Di Francesco selects Milan and Inter’s main challengers after San Siro defeat

Lecce head coach Eusebio Di Francesco has admitted that his side were made to pay for one mistake in their defeat against AC Milan.

It took Milan 75 minutes to break the resistance from the away side, who had defended well and also had Falcone to thank for some smart saves. The goal eventually came from Niclas Füllkrug, who was on hand to head home an inch-perfect Alexis Saelemaekers cross from close range.

After Thursday’s 3-1 win in Como it was an ideal encore from Milan, who are now 20 games unbeaten in the league and have won three out of five Serie A games in 2026, to stay within striking distance of Inter and open up a bit of a gap to fifth place (seven points).

View from the opposition

Di Francesco spoke to DAZN after the final whistle at San Siro to give his assessments after what was a resolute performance from his side that just fell short of snatching a point. MilanNews published what he had to say.

What do you take from tonight’s game? You played a back five…

“A hybrid five, I chose to play on the right… a bit asymmetrical, with Siebert taking care of central situations and then when Pierotti rose, he tended to open up the attack. We made too many technical errors.

“For the goal, we should have supported the goalkeeper better, and we left Fullkrug free to take up positions in the box. It’s an acceptable mistake in a game where Milan put a lot of pressure in the second half.”

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

What went wrong for the goal?

“I think teams like Milan, the closer you push them to your penalty area, the more they can cause problems. They have midfielders who can cause problems, they’re a team that fills the penalty area.

“Tiago and Siebert played a great game on the goal, but in that run, they shouldn’t have pushed too hard towards the near post. Siebert was struggling to move up the pitch at that moment; he found himself a bit too open.

“I don’t want to get too specific now, but they didn’t get much help from the others in keeping possession.”

Who did you see as stronger between Inter and Milan?

“Every game is a story in itself, but these two games were similar. Let’s always remember who they are and who we are. I think we’re improving; some guys, like Siebert and Gandelmann, are growing a lot.

“If there’s a team that can definitely cause problems for Inter, it’s Milan, especially because they don’t have any other competitions.”