McTominay and Lukaku goals lead Napoli to Serie A title and Conte's 'most unexpected' trophy

ROME (AP) — The two players who Antonio Conte wanted 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 2-0 home win over Cagliari.

Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams.

“Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He's phenomenal.”

Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won at Juventus and one at Inter Milan — not to mention a Premier League title at Chelsea — Conte said it was “the most unexpected, the most difficult, and the most stimulating in terms of the challenge.”

Conte also noted how he had to try and convince players to stay when he arrived last June.

Napoli needed only to do the same or better than defending champion Inter in the final round of matches, so Inter's 2-0 win at 10-man Como wasn't enough for the Nerazzurri.

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 10th during a dismal title defense last season.

“The one two years ago was one we were (expecting) for months, whereas this week we had so much anxiety, we couldn’t wait to get on the field and win this in front of our fans,” said winger Matteo Politano, who provided the cross for McTominay's goal.

Diego Maradona led Napoli to its first two titles in 1987 and 1990. The 2023 team 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 pass from Politano in the 42nd minute for his 12th goal this season after transferring from Manchester United.

“For me to come and experience this, it’s a dream,” McTominay said.

Lukaku, who was signed from Chelsea in August, controlled a long vertical pass and dribbled by two defenders before scoring in the 51st. It was his 14th goal along with his league-leading 10 assists.

Conte watched the match from the tribune after getting sent off last weekend. But he went down to the pitch at the final whistle and embraced Lukaku, with whom he also won Serie A at Inter in 2021.

McTominay dropped to the pitch in tears when the match finished. Minutes later he was honored as Serie A player of the season.

Napoli players held up signs that read “Again” featuring a “4” for the team’s fourth title.

Napoli fans began cheering and singing hours before kickoff at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and erupted in celebration at the final whistle — including at jumbo screens that were set up in several of the city's central piazzas.

Cagliari was already sure of avoiding relegation but goalkeeper Alen Sherri was inspired at the start, denying Napoli on multiple occasions early on.

While Napoli won by 16 points two years ago under Luciano Spalletti, this season was a duel with Inter virtually all season. It was also unexpected after Napoli went through three coaches last season – Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona.

But Conte constructed the best defense in Serie A, and brought in Lukaku and McTominay to play alongside holdovers from the 2023 team like captain Di Lorenzo, goalkeeper Alex Meret and midfielder Stanislav Lobotka.

Di Lorenzo matched Maradona by captaining Napoli to two titles.

It also helped that Napoli did not play in Europe this season — keeping the team fresher for Serie A.

Defender Stefan de Vrij scored 20 minutes in for Inter, redirecting a corner kick with a bouncing header.

Como was reduced to 10 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 game before retiring.

Joaquín Correa added another for Inter after the break in almost the same moment that Lukaku scored for Napoli.

Inter, which is also preparing for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in eight days, rested most of its usual starters, including top strikers Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

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Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte celebrates with the trophy after winning the Italian league soccer title at the end of the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Napoli's players hold the trophy after winning the Italian league soccer title at the end of the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, early Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez reacts after the Serie A soccer match between Como and Inter Milan at the Sinigaglia stadium in Como, Italy, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Napoli's fans celebrate as they watch the decisive match for the Italian league soccer title between Napoli and Cagliari on a giant screen set in Piazza del Plebiscito, in Naples, Italy, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

Napoli's fans celebrate as they watch the decisive match for the Italian league soccer title between Napoli and Cagliari on a giant screen set in Piazza del Plebiscito, in Naples, Italy, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

Napoli's Scott McTominay celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Napoli's Scott McTominay scores his side's first goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)