Napoli Win Serie A Title After Final Day Victory Over Cagliari

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Napoli secured the Serie A title for the second time in three seasons with a 2-0 victory over Cagliari on Friday evening in the final round of the campaign. Going into the last matchday, Napoli held a narrow one-point lead over Inter Milan. The title race came down to the wire, with both teams needing to win to keep their hopes alive. A win or simply matching Inter’s result was enough for Napoli to seal the Scudetto, News.Az reports. Antonio Conte’s side delivered when it mattered most, claiming all three points with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay. Inter, meanwhile, also won 2-0 against Como, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Napoli in the standings. Had both teams ended the season level on points, a playoff would have been required to determine the champion — an unusual scenario narrowly avoided by Napoli’s final-day triumph. (11:53) The Serie A title race between Napoli and Inter Milan will be decided on the final day of the season. Champions League finalists and defending Serie A champions Inter Milan are just a point behind the league leaders, however, so any slip-up could see a dramatic finale to the Italian season – including a playoff between the top two, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera. What do Napoli need to secure the title? The league leaders’ equation is quite straightforward – beat Cagliari and the Serie A title is heading to Naples once again. A draw would not be enough, however, should Inter Milan win at Como. For Inter, who will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 31, a draw would be enough to set up a playoff with Napoli for the title. Where would the playoff be staged? The Serie A rules dictate that the team with the better head-to-head between the top two will stage the tie. If that scenario is not decisive, the team with the superior goal difference will play host. Both league encounters ended in 1-1 draws this season. Inter’s goal difference is 12 better than Napoli’s, so the former would host the match at their San Siro Stadium. Why are the teams playing on Friday and when would the playoff be held? Napoli and Inter’s matches have been scheduled for Friday to give Inter adequate time to prepare for the Champions League final, even in the unlikely event that the two teams finish level on points and leave the title to be decided by a playoff on Monday. The threat of a playoff has complicated the season finale, in particular for Inter, whose showdown with Paris Saint-Germain in Munich is now the priority with their league title defence as good as over. An eventual playoff had originally been scheduled for next week, but that is now untenable for Inter and for Serie A, a league which hasn’t had a European champion since Jose Mourinho guided the Milan-based giants to the treble 15 years ago. The league had earmarked Thursday as the new date for Napoli and Inter’s matches so that a playoff could be scheduled for the weekend, but Napoli and broadcaster DAZN were reportedly against the idea, and that led to the choice of Friday for their final league matches and Monday for any playoff. Inter have the harder task on Friday as Como have taken 20 points from their last eight fixtures and are on course to finish 10th, their highest placing since ninth – albeit in a 16-team league – in 1986. Cagliari, who are 14th in the table, have only won nine of their 37 matches this season but are comfortably five points clear of the relegation zone heading into the final round. What would victory mean for Napoli and their coach? Antonio Conte is on the verge of making history in his first season in charge of Napoli. The Italian former international would become the first coach to win Serie A with three different teams if he holds aloft the trophy once more on Friday. “We have our teeth into it and we mustn’t let go,” Conte said. The 55-year-old has already won four Italian leagues. He led Juventus to the first three of its nine successive Serie A titles in each of his three seasons in charge from 2011-14, and won it with Inter in 2021. In between them, he bagged a Premier League title with Chelsea in 2017. While a handful of coaches have won Serie A with two teams, no one has ever done it with three – although there is a significant asterisk. Fabio Cappello lifted league trophies with AC Milan (four times) and Roma before steering Juventus to back-to-back triumphs in 2005 and 2006, but the Bianconeri were stripped of both of those titles because of the Calciopoli refereeing scandal. That also saw Juventus demoted to the second division and its glory days were long behind it when Conte took over and immediately renewed its dominance of Italian football. Conte also ended an 11-year title drought at Inter. Napoli has not had as long a wait, having won Serie A in 2023, but reclaiming it would be arguably one of Conte’s biggest achievements.

Napoli have been crowned champions of Italy once again after beating Cagliari 2-0 on Friday evening in the final match of the Serie A season.

The win means Napoli have now won the Serie A title twice in the last three years. They went into the last day of the season just one point ahead of Inter Milan, so they needed to win or at least match Inter’s result to lift the trophy.

Inter Milan also won their final game 2-0 against Como, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Napoli, who finished the season one point ahead.

If both teams had ended the season level on points, there would have been a one-off playoff to decide the champion – a rare event in Italian football. However, Napoli’s strong performance avoided that scenario.

Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay scored for Inter, while Napoli’s goals in their crucial win came just when they needed them most.

Napoli manager Antonio Conte has now made history by becoming the first manager to win the Serie A title with three different clubs. He previously led Juventus and Inter Milan to league success and has now done the same in his first season with Napoli.

Conte said, “We’ve got our grip on it and we can’t let go now.” His determination helped guide Napoli to the title and add to his impressive list of achievements, which includes a Premier League title with Chelsea in 2017.

This title is especially sweet for Napoli fans, who saw their team win Serie A in 2023 and now celebrate another triumph just two years later.

The match was played on Friday to give Inter more time to prepare for their UEFA Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain on 31 May. Had the title race ended in a draw, a playoff would have been held on Monday, but Napoli’s victory made that unnecessary.

With this win, Napoli have shown great strength and focus, and their fans can now celebrate another well-deserved league title.

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