Napoli clinched the Serie A title for the fourth time on Friday, defeating Cagliari 2-0 and holding off Inter Milan.
On the last day of the season, Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku scored in front of a full and raucous Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, giving Napoli their second league title in three seasons.
Napoli concluded the season one point ahead of closest rivals Inter Milan, who won 2-0 at Como despite having to play half of the match with ten men when custodian Pepe Reina was sent off just before halftime in his final match.
The fans’ new idols, McTominay and Lukaku, kicked off another Scudetto fiesta in Naples; thus, Inter’s victory was meaningless.
Scotland midfielder McTominay’s 12th goal of his first Serie A season, three minutes before halftime, was a fitting manner for Napoli to break the deadlock, as he has been the team’s emblem of rejuvenation under coach Antonio Conte.
McTominay signed in August, with the season already begun, and had an immediate impact on a side still recovering from a disastrous defence of the 2023 league title.
His acrobatic volley from Matteo Politano’s cross broke the ice in a tense stadium, as fans saw a slew of golden chances come and go while Inter took the lead through Stefan de Vrij in the 21st minute in Como, briefly moving to the top of the division.
Lukaku ensured Napoli’s title victory five minutes after the break, collecting Amir Rrahmani’s long pass and holding off Yerry Mina before smashing home the winner.
Joaquin Correa extended Inter’s lead shortly after Lukaku scored, darting inside Ivan Smolcic and comfortably slotting in his second goal of the season.
But Inter’s focus now shifts to the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Munich, where Simone Inzaghi’s team will attempt to capture club football’s most prestigious title after losing the Scudetto to Napoli.
Twelve points dropped from winning positions contributed to Inter’s title loss, and the second-string team put out at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia hinted that Inzaghi was already planning for the next weekend.
Inter had hoped to replicate the treble won by Jose Mourinho in 2010 earlier in the season, but the Champions League is now their only opportunity for a trophy after a long and exhausting season that could end with nothing.
