The San Siro erupted on Sunday night as Inter Milan were crowned Serie A champions for the 21st time in their history, sealing a 2-0 win over Parma with three games to spare to end Napoli’s reign as title holders.
Marcus Thuram broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time, slipped in by Piotr Zielinski to finish across the face of goal from inside the box.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan swept home a second on 80 minutes after substitute Lautaro Martinez drove to the byline and cut it back across goal, and the Scudetto was theirs.
It is a remarkable achievement for Cristian Chivu, who arrived in the summer with no previous top-level managerial experience and has delivered the title in his debut season with the club.
Federico Dimarco set a Serie A single-season assist record with 18 in the league, while Thuram has been in exceptional form during the final sprint, registering eight goal contributions in April alone.
Inter end the campaign having scored 81 Serie A goals, a figure bettered only by Barcelona and Bayern Munich across Europe’s top five leagues.
Napoli, who had been the reigning champions, were left watching on after Saturday’s goalless draw at Como. The gap between the two sides stands at 12 points.
Inter also have a Coppa Italia final against Lazio on May 13 in their sights, with the double firmly within reach.
Juventus drop points at home to relegated Verona
While Inter celebrated, Juventus squandered an opportunity to press their case for Champions League qualification, being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home by already relegated Hellas Verona at the Allianz Stadium.
Kieron Bowie stunned the hosts on 34 minutes after Gleison Bremer gifted possession inside his own box, and Juventus were unable to respond until Dusan Vlahovic – introduced at half-time – bent a stunning free-kick into the bottom corner on 62 minutes.
From there, Juventus threw everything at the Verona backline but goalkeeper Ivan Montipo was equal to a lot of efforts, denying Francisco Conceicao twice in the final quarter before Iker Bravo Edon Zhegrova hit the post deep into stoppage time.
The result leaves Juventus three points clear of fifth-placed Como in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Verona, having lost 21 Serie A games this season, host Como next weekend in a fixture that could yet decide the shape of European qualification.
Tomori red card compounds misery for AC Milan
It was an equally grim afternoon for AC Milan, who fell to a 2-0 defeat at Sassuolo having been reduced to 10 men in the 24th minute.
Domenico Berardi put the hosts ahead after just five minutes after a slick team move, and Fikayo Tomori — already on a yellow card – brought down Armand Lauriente and was dismissed inside the opening quarter of an hour.
Lauriente then added a second in the 47th minute, converting a one-two with Kristian Thorstvedt to put the outcome beyond doubt.
Milan finished the game without a single shot on target, posting an xG of just 0.24 across the entire 90 minutes in another deeply alarming attacking display from Massimiliano Allegri’s side.
