Inter Milan clinch Serie A title

INTER MILAN clinched their first Serie A title in 11 years on Sunday after Sassuolo drew 1-1 with Atalanta to assure Antonio Conte’s side of the league crown.

Inter are 13 points clear in first place with four games remaining, and their triumph ends a run of nine consecutive title wins for Juventus.

Meanwhile, Antonio Conte has justified his salary as the highest paid coach in Serie A by toppling his former club Juventus to end Inter Milan’s decade-long title drought after two seasons at the helm.

Eleven years after Jose Mourinho’s historic treble, Inter claimed the ‘Scudetto’ for a 19th time thanks to a fiery coach whose winning mentality was forged over many years at arch-rivals Juventus.

The title justifies Chinese-owned Inter’s decision two years ago to make Conte the star signing of the fallen northern giants with a reported annual salary of 12 million euros ($14.4 million) until 2022.

The 51-year-old fell short in his first campaign, finishing just one point behind Juventus, but this time their early European exit allowed Inter to focus on their first title since 2010.

“My pneumatic drill was loud and clear in the players’ minds,” said Conte of how he galvanised a team.

“First I train your head, then I train your legs,” he told the players.

“Every day, I tell them that team triumphs come before personal success. Winning is the only way to become great.

“We’ve really focused on the mental side of things over the last two years because it’s been a very long time since Inter have been competitive.

“Something has happened with the players. They now have complete trust in the person who’s leading them.”