Napoli won a second Serie A title in three years last Friday, and there were nerves shredded in both Naples and Milan as the race went down to the final 45 minutes of a scintillating campaign.
At 9pm local time in Italy the Scudetto was heading to Milan as Stefan de Vrij had given I Nerazzurri a 20th minute lead in Como. Meanwhile, Antonio Conte’s Napoli, who started the day a single point ahead of Simone Inzaghi’s reigning champions, were struggling to break a stubborn Cagliari down. And when Como keeper Pepe Reina was sent off on the cusp of half time the pressure mounted on Napoli.
But I Partenopei responded brilliantly, and two of Conte’s 2024 summer signings wrote the Serie A 2025 news headlines with a two-goal blitz in nine minutes either side of half time. First Scott McTominay launched himself off the ground to fire a superb overhead kick home to send the fans in the Diego Maradona Stadium wild. And when Romelu Lukaku surged forward to score a trademark goal the roof came off the stadium.
At the start of the campaign the Serie A 2025 betting odds backed a Nerazzurri defence of their title but the odds shifted from March onwards with our SBOTOP stats team predicting a Napoli triumph, but my goodness it was close.
When Napoli won the Scudetto in 2023, for the first time in 33 years, it was more of a procession as a 1-1 draw away to Udinese gave them the title with five games to play. Luciano Spalletti’s team held their nerve as Victor Osimhen scored the leveller to win the title and the celebrations down the Amalfi Coast continued all summer.
But this season was a nail-biter; though how does it compare to the most famous last day dramas in the Italian top flight?
AC Milan 2021/22
We don’t have to go too far back to find another title race which Inter Milan lost on the final day of the campaign, and in 2022 it was city rivals AC Milan who won the Scudetto to make matters even worse! I Rossoneri, managed by Stefano Pioli, began the final day of the season two points ahead of Inter after winning five matches in a row, and they just had to hold it together away to Sassuolo while their rivals hosted Sampdoria.
And even though I Nerazzurri tried to pile the pressure on with a 3-0 victory AC Milan stood firm and raced into a three-goal half-time lead against Sassuolo, with a brace from Olivier Giroud; ending in a 3-0 win to bag a first Scudetto in 11 years.
Inter Milan 2009/10
I Nerazzurri fans would prefer to look back to happier times, some 15 years ago, when Inter Milan made Italian history, winning the major treble of the Champions League, the Coppa Italia and the Serie A title. It was manager Jose Mourinho’s finest moment, as I Nerazzurri won their first Champions League final since 1965, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 with a goal in each half from Diego Milito. The former Genoa striker also scored the winner against AS Roma in the Coppa Italia final and his goals were crucial in the title run in.
It looked like I Nerazzurri were coasting to the Scudetto, with a 14 point lead over Roma at one stage, but as Mourinho balanced his priorities I Giallorossi briefly took top spot when they beat Inter 2-1 in April. But Inter pegged Roma back and entered the final day with a two point lead as they set off for an away game at Siena. Roma took a 2-0 lead away to Verona while Inter were still goalless, but that man Milito scored on the hour to delver a historic treble to I Nerazzurri.
Juventus 2001/2002
Three teams were still in the hunt on the final day of the 2001/02 campaign, with Inter Milan, Juventus and AS Roma at one, two and three with 69, 68 and 67 points. Roma faced Torino away from home and hoped that Juventus, away to Udinese, and Inter, away to Lazio, would both slip up. But Juventus went into an early two-goal lead, through David Trezeguet and Allesandro Del Piero, putting the pressure on I Nerazzurri in their tough assignment in Rome. Inter were on track at 2-1 up but then it all fell apart as Lazio roared back to win 4-2, with future Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi scoring the Romans’ fourth, handing the 2002 title to the Old Lady in the process.
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