Coppa Italia title – Inter’s 10th – follows Scudetto triumph in Milan.
Inter Milan sealed a domestic double on Wednesday evening, claiming their 10th Coppa Italia by defeating Lazio 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The victory, coming just four days after a crushing 3-0 league win against the same opponents, confirmed one of the most emphatic seasons in the club’s recent history.
Inter had already secured the Scudetto – their 21st – and the cup final proved an encore, with the champions dominating Lazio in a manner that echoed their recent Serie A meeting.
Game
The opening goal arrived from an own goal by Adam Marušić, who turned a Dimarco corner into his own net. Shortly after the half-hour mark, the advantage was doubled when Nuno Tavares lost possession carelessly on the flank, allowing Denzel Dumfries to strip the ball and feed Lautaro Martínez, who made it 2-0 before half-time.
Lazio were unable to produce a meaningful response, and the club’s hopes of securing a direct route into European competition via the cup evaporated. Inter managed the game comfortably in the second half and came close to adding a third on more than one occasion.
The final drew a record crowd of 68,729 spectators, generating receipts of more than €5.6 million – the highest attendance figure for a Coppa Italia final played in the Italian capital.
The victory gave Inter head coach Cristian Chivu – in his first season in charge – a remarkable double, having guided the club to both league and cup glory.
Derby chaos
The evening was further soured for Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri by a separate dispute already simmering before the final whistle: a row over the scheduling of the upcoming Rome derby.
Earlier this week, Rome’s prefect ordered the derby to be moved to Monday evening, on public order and mobility grounds, and to avoid a clash with the Italian Open tennis final. The order contradicted an official announcement by the Serie A chief executive, and prompted the league to threaten legal action.
Speaking to Mediaset after the match, Sarri launched a fierce attack on Serie A’s governing body, expressing fury that the fixture appeared set for a Sunday morning kick-off. He stated that if the match were played at 12.30 on Sunday he would not attend, and that if he were club president he would not even field a side, preferring to accept a one-point deduction.
Sarri argued that the chaos stemmed from a series of administrative blunders by the Lega, for which no apology had been forthcoming, and noted that four clubs were competing for what amounted to roughly €80 million in European qualification – a situation he described as beyond ordinary football.
The Lega Serie A had already filed an appeal with the administrative courts over the derby’s scheduling, adding a legal dimension to a row that threatened to overshadow the culmination of the season.
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