Stars shining at San Siro as Inter celebrate 20th title

While Inter fans had been celebrating since last month when the Nerazzurri secured the Serie A title with five rounds remaining, the players finally got their hands on the trophy after the final home match of the season -- a 1-1 draw against Lazio.

The title was Inter's 20th, earning it a coveted second star, and after the match all the players wore special team shirts that had "20" and two stars on the back.

They were each called out individually to walk to the stage and get their medals, with Lautaro Martinez coming out last -- after coach Simone Inzaghi.

The Inter captain then lifted the trophy up to cheers from a still-packed San Siro as fireworks were set off behind them.

The players paraded the trophy around the edge of the field and were joined by their close friends and family, who had been waiting in an area sectioned off for them near the stage.

The father of Inter forward Marcus Thuram was also present, proudly wearing an Inter shirt -- albeit back-to-front so that his son's name was on his chest. Lilian Thuram, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, played as a defender for Parma and Juventus.

In the match, Denzel Dumfries headed in a free kick late on to rescue a draw for Inter after Daichi Kamada had fired Lazio in front in the first half.

Far away from those celebrations in Milan, there was nothing but misery for Sassuolo, who were relegated from Serie A after 11 years in the Italian top-flight.

A 2-0 loss at home to Cagliari doomed Sassuolo to Serie B and ensured Claudio Ranieri's team stayed up.

Cagliari moved three points clear of the relegation zone with one round remaining, but two of the teams below - Udinese and Frosinone - play each other on the final day.

There are four teams at risk of finishing in 18th spot and following Sassuolo and bottom club Salernitana - who were mathematically relegated last month - into Serie B.

Empoli currently occupies that spot after conceding an equaliser in the 14th minute of stoppage time in a 1-1 draw at Udinese.

Empoli thought they'd got a valuable win against a direct rival for safety when M'Baye Niang converted a penalty in the final minute after Nicolo Cambiaghi was tripped by Udinese midfielder Lazar Samardzic.

But deep in stoppage time Samardzic went from villain to hero by converting another spot kick to ensure Udinese remained a point above the bottom three.

Empoli replaced Frosinone, who moved two points clear with a 1-0 win at Monza.

Australian Associated Press