MILAN — Inter Milan transformed its treble disappointment from last season into domestic domination, beating Parma 2-0 on Sunday to secure the Serie A title. The Nerazzurri finished 12 points ahead of second-placed Napoli with three rounds remaining.
The club can complete a league and cup double if it defeats Lazio in the Italian Cup final on May 13. It marks their first Serie A triumph since the 2024 season, and the first time winning both league and cup since José Mourinho guided Inter to a historic treble in 2010.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
A Bitter Turn Into Something Greater
Last season promised so much but delivered nothing. Inter was on course for three trophies with just over a month remaining, only to finish one point below Napoli in the league, lose in the Italian Cup semifinals, and suffer a 5-0 rout against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final — the most lopsided in the competition's history.
This season told a different story entirely. The club replaced Simone Inzaghi, who departed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal after four years that included one Serie A title, two Champions League finals, and two Italian Cups. In came Cristian Chivu, whose only top-flight managerial experience consisted of 13 matches securing survival with Parma that February.
The Romanian Connection
Chivu brought something Inzaghi could not: proximity. He spent seven years overseeing Inter's youth teams after retiring as a player in 2014, and he knew the club's culture intimately. More importantly, he was part of that 2010 treble-winning side, lifting the Champions League, Serie A, and Italian Cup as a defender.
His fresh approach reshaped Inter into a more aggressive, high-pressing outfit. He integrated academy talents like Pio Esposito and introduced new training methods that kept key players largely clear of the injury problems that plagued the previous campaign.
Captain Lautaro Martínez missed eight of the nine league matches before the title-clinching game with a calf issue, returning against Parma. That still represented sharp luck compared to what Napoli endured.
The Injury Divide
Where Inter stayed healthy, Napoli fell apart. The defending champions lost star forward Romelu Lukaku before the season even began. Kevin De Bruyna, Frank Anguissa, David Neres, Billy Gilmour, and Amir Rrahmani all missed significant portions of the campaign.
That injury gap proved decisive. Inter wobbled after Champions League elimination by Bodø/Glimt, collecting just two wins in eight matches, including a derby loss that sliced their lead to six points. But a statement 5-3 victory at Roma rebuilt confidence, and the Nerazzurri never looked back.
The title returns to Milan on the back of stability Inter could not find a year ago. Sometimes a change in voice sounds louder than any signing.