Inter Milan wins first Serie A title since 2010
Milan, May 03 (AP): The city of Milan erupted into a cacophony of celebrations as Inter Milan won its first Serie A title in more than a decade.
Car horns began blaring immediately after second-place Atalanta drew 1-1 at Sassuolo on Sunday. That confirmed Inter as champion with an insurmountable 13-point lead with four matches to spare and fans descended on the main square in front of the city’s famous cathedral. Thousands of Nerazzurri fans congregated in Piazza Duomo, with flags and scarves, chanting and singing as they jumped and clapped with little heed to coronavirus restrictions. Almost all wore masks but many were pulled down below their chins.
They also set off flares and fireworks. It was Inter’s first trophy since 2011 and the first Serie A title since 2010, when it claimed the treble of the league, Champions League and Italian Cup.
“We are, yes, we are. Champions of Italy. We can finally scream it, after dreaming of it, after keeping it hidden in the depths of our hearts, after holding on to it like a precious dream that we did not want to waste,” read a lengthy statement on the Inter website.
Inter ended Juventus’ grip on the league crown. Inter coach Antonio Conte led Juventus to the first three of its nine successive Serie A titles but ended that run in his second season in charge of the Nerazzurri.
“This is certainly one of the most important successes in my career,” said Conte, who also won the English Premier League with Chelsea in 2017.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to come to Inter, right at the time where the team wasn’t equipped to win something.
“Moreover the opponent was Juventus, for which I worked for so long and it had dominated for nine years. I accepted the challenge with great willingness … today we can say that our sacrifices have been repaid.”