Italian football can take a breath now after another scintillating Serie A campaign finished off in typically dramatic style, and now there will be more celebrations in Naples and all the way down the Amalfi Coast.
On Friday night Napoli won a second Scudetto in two years thanks to a 2-0 win over Cagliari as Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku both scored superb goals, and they were already joined in the 2025/26 Champions League by Inter Milan and Atalanta, confirmed in second and third. And on Sunday evening there was a three way shootout for the fourth Champions League place, between Juventus, Roma and Lazio and it turned out to be a celebration for the Old Lady.
The final match-day was always going to be nail-biting and the title race was on a knife-edge when Napoli and Inter kicked off, separated by just a single point. It was I Nerazzurri who struck first in their clash away to in-form Como. With just 21 minutes on the clock centre back Stefan de Vrij rose highest to meet a corner from Hakan Calahoglu to plant his header home. Inter almost doubled their lead but Como stopper Pepe Reina made a brilliant save to deny Mehdi Taremi. At that point, Napoli were still goalless in their game but, three minutes before the break McTominay scored a superb scissor kick goal to send the home fans wild.
Back in Como, Reina, playing the last competitive games of his career, saw red when he fouled Taremi and, five minutes into the second half Joaquin Correa made it 2-0 with a cool finish. But at the same time, Lukaku was making a powerful run, shrugging off three Cagliari challenges before firing the ball home to end any fears of a Napoli slip-up.
The Serie A 2025 betting odds, here at SBOTOP, had backed Antonio Conte’s team for a few weeks and all credit to Inter for taking it down to the final round, finishing on 81 points to Napoli’s 82. I Partenopei lifted the Scudetto for the fourth time and now the summer holiday beckons; but for I Nerazzurri there is more work to be done.
Inter Milan have a Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain to look forward to next week and with that in mind, Simone Inzaghi, who was serving a touchline ban in Como, rested some players and his decision turned out to be the correct one. Now his team heads to Munich to try to go one better than their runners up position in 2023 and pick up their fourth title, while PSG are aiming for a first Champions League crown.
Champions League
The Sunday 7:45 kick-offs saw the Serie A 2025 updates flying around Rome and Turin as Roma and Lazio tried to move in on Juventus’ fourth place, the final Champions League berth, and it was Claudio Ranieri’s Roma who struck first, away to Torino. Alexis Saelemaekers took a tumble in the penalty area and the ref pointed to the spot. Leandro Paredes slotted the penalty home and I Giallorossi took a lead into half time. By the time Roma were ahead Juventus had fallen behind, away to Venezia, who were fighting for their survival and took a second minute lead through Daniel Fila. But two goals in six minutes from Kenan Yildiz and Randal Kolo Muani gave the Old Lady a half time lead and she was back in pole position.
Meanwhile, Lazio, at home to another team fighting relegation, Lecce, went into the break in shock after Lassana Coulibaly had silenced the Stadio Olimpico with a 43rd minute strike. But the hosts were given a boost when their visitors went down to ten men when Santiago Pierotti received a second yellow card on the stroke of half time.
Roma forged ahead early in the second half as Saelemaekers doubled their lead over Torino, and then there was chaos in Venice as Ridgeciano Haps levelled for the hosts and knocked Juve off their perch. Time seemed to be running out when the clock reached 73 minutes but then I Bianconeri got the breakthrough they desperately needed. Francisco Coneicao was tripped in the penalty area and the penalty was given, to be dispatched with huge conviction by Manuel Locatelli who smashed the ball high into the top corner. Venezia never gave up and pushed for a leveller until the very last breath but Juve held out to take their Champions League place while the fans in Venice will join Empoli and Monza in Serie B.
Roma finished fifth and will play in the Europa League but Lazio somehow failed to score against the ten men of Lecce and Alessio Romagnoli was red carded in injury time to level things up. Lazio dropped to seventh as Fiorentina won 3-2 away to Udinese to jump into sixth and the Europa Conference League, and one more team will play in Europe next term.
Bologna are in the Europa League after they won their first Coppa Italia title since 1974, beating AC Milan in the final.
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