Giampaolo Pazzini scored what turned out to be the winning goal with a well-executed volley in the 22nd minute to stop his side's rut after two consecutive league defeats at the hands of Napoli and Catania.
The victory moves the Nerazzurri onto the six-point mark, two clear of both CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor after the Russian side secured a 3-0 victory over their Turkish opponents in the evening's early kick-off.
The hosts took the game to their more illustrious visitors straight from the first whistle, with full-back Mathieu Debuchy and midfielder Florent Balmont combining to great effect down the right-hand side.
However, despite their industry and application, the final ball from the wide areas was more often than not lacking in quality.
In typical Italian fashion, the Nerazzurri expertly soaked up the pressure before hitting their opponents with a classic sucker-punch by taking the lead against the run of play in the 22nd minute.
Returning Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, who had been sidelined with injury for over three weeks, was the architect, working a neat exchange with Pazzini before dissecting the Lille rearguard with an incisive through ball for Mauro Zarate.
The Argentine darted to the byline, and demonstrated tremendous vision by clipping his cross back towards the penalty spot, where Pazzini had arrived right on time to thrash a volley past Vincent Enyeama to open the scoring.
LOSC reacted positively to the setback, however, and upped their game. Less than 60 seconds after the goal, Julio Cesar was forced to punch Debuchy’s 25 yard drive clear.
Yet that was about as close as the hosts came to restoring parity in the first half as the Inter backline held firm in the face of Eden Hazard and Joe Cole’s attempts to pick their defensive lock.
Les Dogues not only added a sense of urgency to their play in the second half, but also looked far more menacing in the final third.
However, despite appearing more threatening, in the end all they had to show for their efforts were Moussa Sow’s deflected strike and substitute Dimitri Payet’s curling effort from the edge of the box, both of which drew decent, but not outstanding, saves from Julio Cesar.
The sides now meet again on matchday four in the second fixture of their Champions League double-header. Lille will travel to Milan to face Inter at Giuseppe Meazza on Wednesday 2 November.
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