McTominay and Lukaku goals lead Napoli to Serie A title

ROME AP The two players who Antonio Conte craved more than any others secured Napoli its second Serie A title in three years on Friday Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive - home win over Cagliari Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three teams Napoli needed only to do the same or better than defending champion Inter Milan in the final round of matches so Inter s - win at -man Como wasn t enough for the Nerazzurri The results meant Napoli finished Serie A one point ahead of Inter The southern squad s fourth Serie A title overall capped an impressive turnaround after the Partenopei finished th during a dismal title defense last season Maradona led Napoli to its first two titles in and The unit led by Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia clinched with five rounds to spare Inter was heading toward the title until McTominay went airborne to redirect a cross from Matteo Politano in the nd minute for his th goal this season after transferring from Manchester United Lukaku who was signed from Chelsea in August controlled a long vertical pass and dribbled by two defenders before scoring in the st It was his th goal to go with his league-leading assists Inter rested its starters Defender Stefan de Vrij scored minutes in for Inter redirecting a corner kick with a bouncing header Como was reduced to men when goalkeeper Pepe Reina was sent off at the end of the first half for a foul on Mehdi Taremi It was Reina s final encounter before retiring Joaqu n Correa added another for Inter after the break in almost the same exact moment that Lukaku scored for Napoli Inter which is also preparing for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in eight days rested the bulk of its usual starting lineup including top strikers Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source