Napoli secured the Serie A title in style with a 2-0 home win over Cagliari thanks to goals from Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku.
The title race had come down to the wire on Friday, with Napoli holding a one-point advantage over Inter Milan going into the final round of games.
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end of listMcTominay opened the scoring three minutes before the break with a stunning bicycle kick from Matteo Politano’s cross, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Lukaku doubled the lead six minutes after the restart by latching on to a long ball, shrugging off a defender and calmly finishing past Cagliari keeper Alen Sherri.
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.
McTominay and Lukaku were the two players Napoli coach Antonio Conte wanted more than any others to help the Naples club reclaim the title they lost to Inter last season.
The former Italian international has now become the first coach to win the Italian championship with three teams, following his victories with Juventus and Inter Milan.
“It happened again, and it’s something wonderful. When we got to the stadium, it was honestly difficult to get in, as I don’t know how many people were there. I had a slight thought, if we let these people down, it’d be something we carried with us for a long time,” he told reporters.
Conte was absent from the touchline for the final match due to suspension, but Napoli completed their task.
“All the credit goes to the boys. Winning in Naples is difficult, these boys are doing it for the second time in two years,” he said. “They are serious boys, you don’t leave in a team that always plays to win.”
Napoli needed only to do the same or better than defending champions Inter in the final round of matches, so Inter’s 2-0 win at 10-man Como was not enough for the Nerazzurri.
Stefan de Vrij and Joaquin Correa netted the goals for Simone Inzaghi’s Inter, who are now left to focus on their Champions League final with Paris Saint-Germain next Saturday.
The results meant Napoli finished Serie A one point ahead of Inter. Had the teams finished level on points, then a playoff would have been required to decide the title.
Napoli’s forward Romelu Lukaku scores his team’s second goal during the Italian Serie A match [Carlo Hermann/AFP]
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
