A Career Built on Details
Marcus Thuram scored before halftime and Henrikh Mkhitaryan added a second goal in the 80th minute as Inter Milan clinched the Serie A title with a 2-0 victory over Parma at San Siro on Sunday.
The win gave Inter an unassailable 12-point lead over 2025 champion Napoli with three rounds remaining, sealing the club's 21st Italian league championship — still well behind Juventus's record 36 titles but the third in six years.
The trophy did not need much decoration; the season had already done most of the talking.
Inter needed only a draw to secure the trophy, and the celebration that followed felt like a long time coming. The club hadn't won a title in front of its home fans at San Siro since 1989 — nearly four decades of waiting for this particular kind of party.
Thuram opened the scoring with an angled shot that beat goalkeeper Zion Suzuki just before the break. The goal carried extra resonance: Thuram was born in Parma while his father, Lilian Thuram, played for the club.
"Since I arrived at Inter, it's been a team that loves to stay together — on and off the field — and that's our strength," Thuram said.
The Record He Leaves
Lautaro Martinez, who came off the bench in his return from an injury layoff, set up Mkhitaryan's goal. The 37-year-old midfielder finished to mark the occasion.
For first-year coach Cristian Chivu, the trophy came against the club he managed last season, when he helped Parma avoid relegation. Chivu was hired to replace Simone Inzaghi nearly a year ago and played on the Inter team that won a treble under José Mourinho in 2010.
Inter will face Lazio in the Italian Cup final in 10 days, giving the club a chance at a second trophy this season.
The domestic success stands in sharp contrast to Inter's Champions League campaign. The club was knocked out of this season's Champions League playoffs by Norwegian minnows Bodø/Glimt, a humbling exit that came after last season's final loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
While Inter celebrated, the race for Champions League qualification grew tighter. AC Milan lost 2-0 at Sassuolo after playing with 10 men for most of the match, and Juventus could only draw 1-1 at home against Hellas Verona. The result leaves third-placed Milan just two points ahead of fourth-placed Juventus, with Como only three points back in fifth.
The Part People Remember
Domenico Berardi scored early for Sassuolo — his 12th career goal against Milan — before Fikayo Tomori was sent off. Armand Lauriente doubled Sassuolo's lead after the break. Milan has scored just one goal in its last five matches, and Christian Pulisic's goalless streak in league play has reached 17 matches.
For Juventus, Dusan Vlahovic equalized with a free kick — his first goal since October — after Verona had taken an early lead through Kieron Bowie, who intercepted a pass from Gleison Bremer.
Bologna was held 0-0 by Cagliari in a regional derby.
The title race was effectively settled weeks ago, but the manner of its arrival still mattered to a club that had waited generations to celebrate at home.