Giampaolo Pazzini scored in the 52nd minute at the San Siro, setting up the possibility for Inter to take the lead when Serie A resumes with the Milan derby in two weeks.

However, key Inter center back Lucio picked up a yellow card that will rule him out of the April 2 derby.

Still, Inter has the momentum, having also advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals with a thrilling comeback win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Milan lost 1-0 at Palermo on Saturday and drew 1-1 with last-place Bari the previous weekend in a match where Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off for punching a defender in the chest. The incident triggered a three-match ban that rules Ibrahimovic out of the derby.

“Milan is a great squad and the derby is a special game, but it’s not decisive because there will still be several more matches,” Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar said. “In any case, it’s definitely going to be a big (match).”

Pazzini scored by controlling a pass with his chest and dribbling by a defender before finding the target with an angled shot inside the area. It was the Italy international’s sixth goal with Inter since transferring from Sampdoria in January.

Lecce threatened early when Daniele Corvia’s volley landed just wide in the 18th, and Julio Cesar preserved the victory with a save on Andrea Bertolacci in the 85th.

Earlier, Totti scored the 200th and 201st goals of his Serie A career in a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina.

Silvio Piola, who won the World Cup with Italy in 1938, tops the all-time scoring list with 274 goals, followed by Gunnar Nordahl (225), Giuseppe Meazza (216), Jose Altafini (216) and Roberto Baggio (205).

Also Sunday, Antonio Di Natale scored his league-leading 25th goal as Udinese beat Catania 2-0 to move into a tie for third with Napoli, which was hosting Cagliari later.

Milan leads with 62 points, Inter has 60 and Udinese and Napoli have 56 each.

Juventus snapped a four-game winless streak with a 2-1 win over Brescia, with captain Alessandro Del Piero dribbling by two defenders to score the winner in the 68th.

Also, it was: Bari 1, Chievo Verona 2; Bologna 1, Genoa 1; and Sampdoria 0, Parma 1.
 
Liverpool beats Sunderland

Dirk Kuyt’s controversial penalty and a brilliant individual effort by Luis Suarez earned Liverpool a 2-0 win at Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday, trimming the gap to fifth-place Tottenham to just four points.

Kuyt opened the scoring from the spot in the 34th minute even though the tackle by Sunderland defender John Mensah, who was later shown a straight red for a professional foul, brought down Jay Spearing outside the area.

Suarez wrapped up victory in the 77th, running along the byline and fooling goalkeeper Simon Mignolet with a clever shot that crept in at the near post from a sharp angle.

Any hope of the hosts recovering were dashed when Mensah was dismissed for wrestling Suarez to the ground as the Uruguay striker chased a clearance.

Tottenham, which has picked up just two points from its last three league games, has a game in hand over the Reds but Kenny Dalglish’s side has the better current form as it chases a spot in the Europa League for next season. League position is the only avenue into Europe for Liverpool following its elimination from the continent’s second-tier club competition at the hands of Portuguese team Braga on Thursday.

Sunderland, which is without a win since January, remained ninth but is now just six points off the relegation zone in a congested lower half of the table.

The crucial opening goal may have stemmed from fortunate circumstances, as Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher acknowledged, but Liverpool dominated much of the game.

“I thought it was a penalty but then I looked at halftime and I don’t think it was, was it? It was just outside,” Carragher said. “Everyone knows goals change games — up to then it had been pretty even and Sunderland had been putting a bit of pressure on.

“Every week you can look at different incidents and you can always say it changes the game. Maybe it has gone our way but thankfully we got the other to make sure, so you could say we would still have won 1-0.”