Ten days had passed since the gutting loss to Atalanta, but the wounds were still fresh, raw in the minds of everyone who wore the Lecce crest. They'd felt it, that sting, the ache that settled in the chest and refused to leave, the sharp memory of the final whistle and Lookman's celebration cutting into them every time they closed their eyes.
But if that hurt, the pain had been compounded just the day before, when Lecce faced Spezia in a match they were expected to dominate, to control, to win without question.
Instead, they were humbled.
Beaten one nil by a team fighting for scraps near the bottom of the table.
It was the kind of match that people expected Lecce to win, the kind of match that people penciled in as a guaranteed three points, a chance to boost the goal difference, to flex the muscles they'd spent the season building.
But football didn't care about expectations.