AC Milan was called to confirm itself after the splendid victory obtained in the Derby against Inter on the last day of the championship.
Coach Paulo Fonseca fielded the same starting eleven in order to give continuity of play and intent among his men.
For its part, Lecce, the visiting team, presented itself in good form with recent games convincing in terms of play and opportunities but from which it did not obtain the points it deserved, lacking in concreteness and necessary cynicism on various occasions.
Very balanced first half hour
In the initial phase of the match, both teams faced each other openly, preferring quick plays on the sidelines and immediate conclusions.
In particular, the two attackers of the visiting team, namely Ante Rebic and striker Nikola Krstović, tried to make themselves particularly dangerous, both with individual plays and with quick exchanges between them.
However, these conclusions did not particularly worry the French goalkeeper Mike Maignan who was always ready to reject such shots.
While for the Rossoneri, the most favorable opportunities were created along the left flank involving the two key players of the club, Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao.
The latter was seen mainly in his role as an assist-man in the various attempts to reward the continuous overlaps of the French full-back who thus revealed himself to be in splendid physical shape.
AC Milan takes victory in five minutes
Everything changed in the 38th minute when, following a free kick taken from the side of the penalty area, Alvaro Morata was able to get ahead of everyone by heading in a sharp cross from Pulisic, victoriously beating the opposing goalkeeper.
Second goal so far for the Spanish striker since his arrival in Milan.
Shortly after, in the 41st minute, Rafael Leao lit up the scene with a deep pass with which he served his teammate Theo Hernandez who found himself inside the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot that the opposing goalkeeper could do nothing about.
At this stage of the match, the visiting team, due to the two goals conceded in such a short space of time, seemed completely stunned.
The Rossoneri promptly took advantage of this situation by also finding the third goal.
Alvaro Morata immediately pressed hard to win the ball back and then went on the offensive in a rapid way, first leading to a close-range shot from Tammy Abraham which however hit the post and then, on the rebound, the ball returned to the centre of the penalty area where American striker Christian Pulisic was quicker than the opposing defenders and with a quick touch scored his fifth goal of the season, four of which in Serie A.
AC Milan finished the match with ten men
The only negative note for the Rossoneri was the expulsion, in the 80th minute, of defender Davide Bartesaghi who had only just come on for Theo Hernandez.
In fact, the young Italian defender was the author of a really dangerous slide on opponent Lameck Banda who fortunately did not suffer any injuries.
This unexpected event forced the men coached by Fonseca to a careful defensive phase for the remaining ten minutes of the match with the sole aim of obtaining a precious clean sheet, which in fact happened.