NAPLES: Napoli climbed back to the top of Italian football after sealing the Serie A title on Friday, bouncing back from disaster to win the championship for the fourth time.

Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku netted in a 2-0 win over Cagliari at a packed and wild Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as Napoli secured their second league crown in three years on the final day of the season.

Napoli finished the season a point ahead of closest rivals Inter Milan who won 2-0 at Como, the outgoing champions’ opponents having to play half the match with 10 men after goalkeeper Pepe Reina was sent off just before half-time of his last ever match.

Friday’s triumph crowned a season which started with few thinking Napoli could challenge Inter after finishing 10th as reigning champions last term.

“It’s happened again and it’s fantastic... we’ve had a really great season and it’s all thanks to the boys who wanted to put themselves out there, especially those who won the league two years ago,” said coach Antonio Conte.

Conte has taken Napoli by the scruff of the neck but did nothing to squash rumours that he will leave in the summer after one season in Naples due to his frustrations at a lack of investment from owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

“I have a good relationship with the president and his family,” said Conte when pressed on his future by DAZN. “I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him and him me, we’re celebrating together and we’re two winners. Maybe we’re a bit different, but we’re two winners.”

For Conte, the victory represented another milestone in his career, securing the Serie A title with a third different club, having previously achieved the feat with Juventus and Inter.

Inter’s win meant nothing as another Scudetto party was kicked off in Naples by the fans’ new heroes McTominay and Lukaku, with fans lighting flares and setting off fireworks in the streets in celebration.

Scotland midfielder McTominay, named player of the season, signed with the league campaign already underway in August and immediately made an impact on a team still reeling last season’s disaster.

His 12th goal of his first Serie A season, three minutes before half-time, was a fitting way for Napoli to break the deadlock as he has been the symbol of the team’s renewal under Conte.

“I’m lost for words. It’s incredible you know, the sacrifice that every single player in the group has put forward to the cause,” said McTominay. “And the people deserve it because they’ve been behind us from day one, and for me to come and experience this is a dream.”

McTominay’s acrobatic volley from Matteo Politano’s cross broke the ice in a tense stadium, as supporters watched a clutch of good chances come and go while Inter took the lead through Stefan de Vrij in the 21st minute in Como and briefly moved top of the division.

And Lukaku made sure that Napoli would secure title glory five minutes after the break when he collected Amir Rrahmani’s long pass and held off Yerry Mina before ramming home the goal which sealed the deal.

The rest of the match turned into a celebration at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium as flares and smoke filled the pitch before the final whistle blew and fireworks lit up the Naples sky.

“The one two years ago was one we were [expecting] for months, whereas this week we had so much anxiety, we couldn’t wait to get on the field and win this in front of our fans,” said Politano.

Diego Maradona led Napoli to their first two titles in 1987 and 1990. The 2023 team led by Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia clinched with five rounds to spare.

While Napoli won by 16 points two years ago under Luciano Spalletti, this season was a duel with Inter virtually all season. It was also unexpected after Napoli went through three coaches last season — Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona.

But Conte constructed the best defence in Serie A, and brought in Lukaku and McTominay to play alongside holdovers from the 2023 team like captain Di Lorenzo, goalkeeper Alex Meret and midfielder Stanislav Lobotka.

“Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.”

HEARTBREAK FOR INTER

Joaquin Correa had made it 2-0 for Inter six minutes into the second half, cutting inside a defender before finishing coolly, but any hopes of a dramatic title twist quickly faded as news came through that Napoli’s Lukaku had scored almost simultaneously.

Inter now turn their attentions to the Champions League final against Paris St Germain in Munich, where Simone Inzaghi’s team will try to win club football’s biggest prize after conceding the Scudetto to Napoli.

Twelve points lost from winning positions played their part in Inter losing the title and the second-string team sent out at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia suggested that Inzaghi was already thinking ahead to next weekend.

Inter had been gunning to repeat the treble won under Jose Mourinho in 2010 earlier in the season but the Champions League is now their only chance for a trophy from a long, and draining campaign which they could end with nothing.

“We did our part, we knew we were depending on others. We couldn’t have done more today, but we have to put it behind us and prepare for the final,” Inter captain De Vrij told DAZN.

“We didn’t deserve [the title] because if we’re not top after 38 games, then whoever is top deserves it, but there’s a feeling that we could have done more in the league.

“There’s a huge desire to play a great final next week. We’ve worked really hard this year and done very well in the Champions League. We’ll do everything we can to finish on a high.”

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2025