Inter midfielder Henrikh Hamlet Mkhitaryan was part of a Nerazzurri side that refused to coast on Saturday, as Cristian Chivu's champions dismantled Lazio 3-0 at the Olimpico in Matchday 36 of Serie A — a result that pushed Inter's points tally to 85 from 36 matches and extended a defensive record that has conceded just 31 goals all season.
The significance of the win extends beyond the scoreline. With a Coppa Italia final against Lazio scheduled for 13 May — a rematch the Biancocelesti will approach carrying the psychological weight of a 3-0 home defeat — Chivu used the league fixture to send a message. The Inter coach hailed his squad as a "fantastic group" after the final whistle, a phrase that carries more weight when the group in question has won 27 of 36 league matches and scored 85 goals. Chivu's Inter did not switch off after securing the Scudetto. That is a coaching achievement as much as a collective one.
For Mkhitaryan, now 37, the context is both celebratory and clarifying. His season numbers — three goals and one assist across 27 appearances, with an average rating of 6.90 — describe a player operating as a reliable rotational presence rather than a weekly protagonist. At his age, that is not a diminishment; it is a recalibration. The Nerazzurri have 85 points and 85 goals, and Mkhitaryan has contributed to a system built on collective efficiency rather than individual dominance.
What the Lazio result underlines is that Inter's standards have not softened since the title was confirmed. Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri, candid in his post-match assessment, acknowledged the gulf and described hearing only Inter's supporters inside the Olimpico as "humiliating." That detail speaks to the atmosphere Chivu's side has generated — not merely winning, but winning in a way that silences opposition venues.
Mkhitaryan's AI overall score of 70 out of 100, set against a potential rating of just 28, is the data portrait of a player whose ceiling is behind him but whose floor remains functional. The gap between those two numbers is the gap between what he was and what he can still offer — and at a club with 85 points and a cup final on the horizon, what he can still offer is not nothing.
The Coppa Italia final against Lazio on 13 May now becomes the season's last meaningful test, and the 3-0 league result will hang over it. Mkhitaryan's role in that match — whether as starter, substitute, or spectator — will likely define the final image of his 2025-26 campaign. Inter arrive at that fixture as champions who have just proven, one more time, that they do not know how to stop.