Salernitana enjoyed a blistering start and scored in the fourth minute via Lassana Coulibaly, but his strike was canceled by VAR following a previous offside. That seemed to kill the hosts’ confidence, and Lecce quickly took control of the contest and didn’t have problems dominating possession against a sloppy Salernitana side that struggled to move the ball forward with any sort of consistency. While the hosts had a few clear chances here and there, their lack of accuracy in the final third was alarming and only an overhead kick from Pasquale Mazzocchi posed any sort of a threat to Lecce’s defensive line.
It seemed as if the first half was going to end up scoreless, but Lecce’s dominance was finally translated into the scoreline a few minutes before HT. Assan Ceesay was the one to break the deadlock for Lecce in the 42nd minute. The Gambia international pounced on a defensive mistake to go on a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, going around him and slotting the ball home into the empty goal as Lecce fully deserved the one-goal advantage heading into the break.
Salernitana started the second half with an aggressive approach and the HT substitutions paid off, though they’d also receive help from Lecce to even things up early in the second half when Joan González attempted to clear a corner kick only to send the ball into his own net. The hosts kept playing with intensity and pushing the lines forward, but as it happened in the first half, Lecce eventually settled down and regained control of the tempo. Essentially, the game was being played at Lecce’s pace, though the chances were scarce.
All signs pointed to this game ending with a draw, but Gabriel Strefezza had other plans and curled a beautiful strike into an impossible angle for the goalkeeper. Salernitana couldn’t find a reaction in the final minutes and had to settle for a home loss - though in the end, it was a deserved outcome for Lecce.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Assan Ceesay (Lecce)
