Italian midfielder Luigi di Biagio opened the scoring with a header in the 14th minute and then 12 minutes later fired in an Alvaro Recoba cross from close range.
Boris Zivkovic pulled one back for the visitors in the 62nd minute with a cleverly worked corner move, but Leverkusen keeper Hans-Jorg Butt spilled a Hernan Crespo shot into his own goal with ten minutes left to make the game safe for Inter.
Franca pulled another back for Leverkusen in injury time, but the scoreline did not do the Italians’ superiority justice and without Crespo’s woeful finishing the score could have been five or six.
Both teams did look very beatable though.