Inter Milan crowned Serie A Champions 2025‑26 with 2‑0 win over Parma
Inter Milan have been crowned Serie A champions for the 2025‑26 season, sealing their 21st Scudetto with a 2‑0 victory over Parma at the San Siro on Sunday. The win, with goals from Marcus Thuram and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, wrapped up the title with three games still to play and underlined the swift restoration of Nerazzurri dominance under first‑year boss Cristian Chivu.
Inter leapfrogged last‑season runners‑up Napoli at the top and now sit on 21 league titles, remaining in second place on the all‑time list behind Juventus’ 36 but reasserting themselves as the key alternative to the Turin giants in the modern era.
Title sealed in typical style
Inter needed only a draw to guarantee the Scudetto, but the Nerazzurri opted for a statement route instead. Marcus Thuram gave the hosts the lead just before halftime, sweeping an angled finish inside the far post and beating Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki at his near post. The 21st‑century‑style striker line‑up, Thuram and, later, Lautaro Martinez, carried echoes of the club’s recent title‑winning teams.
The final goal arrived in the 80th minute, when Lautaro Martinez, returning from injury and soon to be crowned Serie A’s top scorer for 2025‑26, lay‑off a pass inside the area for the 37‑year‑old Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who slotted home coolly. The two‑goal margin gave the result an air of inevitability, matching the league‑table gap that had been building for weeks.
When the final whistle blew, the San Siro crowd erupted in song, a familiar chorus of “Inter champion” rolling around the stands. The players swarmed the pitch, hugging, dancing, and waving to the fans, completing a title party that had felt like a formality but now carried the weight of confirmation.
Thuram’s emotional tie to Parma
For Thuram, the goal had a personal dimension. He was born in Parma while his father, Lilian Thuram, played for the Emilia‑Romagna club, which means the 2‑0 win over the visitors carried a subtle circle‑of‑life resonance: the son of a former Parma icon striking to clinch the title for the visitors’ long‑time rivals.
After the match, Marcus reflected on the team’s cohesion:
“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.”
That sentiment fits neatly with the modern Inter identity: a dressing‑room built more on continuity and shared process than on constant transfer‑market fireworks. The Thuram‑Martinez partnership has become central to Chivu’s attack, and the 2‑0 win over Parma underlined how decisive they can be on the big stages.
Chivu’s first major trophy as manager
In the dug‑out, Cristian Chivu completed his first major step in management. The 44‑year‑old, who made 168 appearances for Inter as a defender and was part of the 2010 treble‑winning squad under José Mourinho, arrived from Parma in the summer of 2025 to replace Simone Inzaghi, who left for Al‑Hilal.
This title marks his first senior trophy as a manager, and it comes in a debut season that has already mixed continuity with a subtle refresh of the Inter system. The Nerazzurri had flirted with the fringes of the Champions League last season, only to crash out in the playoff round to Bodo/Glimt in February, but the domestic campaign has been a redemption arc.
Now, Inter can push for a domestic double if they beat Lazio in the Coppa Italia final on May 13, which would be the first time the club has won both the league and the cup in the same season since Mourinho’s 2010 treble year.
The wider title‑race context
Last season, Inter finished as runners‑up to Napoli, while the campaign before that ended an 11‑year wait for a league title. The 2025‑26 season has thus become a three‑act story: a brief drought, a comeback title, and now a second Scudetto in three years, which gives the club a platform for stability at a time when rivals like AC Milan and Napoli have been consolidating their own squads.
In the more immediate narrative, Napoli’s 0‑0 draw at Como on Saturday and Milan’s defeat to Hellas Verona on Sunday set the stage for Inter to clinch the title at the very first opportunity, even if the Nerazzurri had simply drawn at home. The 2‑0 win instead provided a cleaner, more emphatic confirmation of superior form.
Milestones and legacy moments
For the players, the title carries both collective and personal weight. Nicolò Barella, the club’s captain, spoke afterward about the contrast between the highs of the San Siro finish and the lows of recent international campaigns:
“That’s football and life. There are difficult moments. For example, last season we came so close to everything and won nothing. In life you’ve always got to get back up on your feet.”
That line points to the resilience that underpins Chivu’s project: a team that has handled the psychological pressure of a title‑race, domestic disappointment in the Champions League, and individual international setbacks while still finishing at the top of the domestic table.
Mkhitaryan’s cool finish at 37, Thuram’s clinical strike born in Parma, and Lautaro’s return‑from‑injury assist all became symbolic moments in a season that restored Inter to the summit of Italian football.
SportsLigue
