Lautaro Martinez is not surprised that Inter struggled to get all three points from Cremonese, urging his men to focus on Atalanta before Milan. ‘Every game is a battle.’

The Nerazzurri had found themselves trailing 1-0 at the Stadio Giovanni Zini to a sudden scorcher from David Okereke, which dipped and swerved into the far top corner.

However, Lautaro Martinez turned it around with a brace either side of the half-time break, the first on the rebound from a parried Edin Dzeko effort and the second with a deflection off Johan Vasquez.

It was a special occasion for the Argentina international, the first time he had worn the captain’s armband from the start in a Serie A match.

“They are important points, as we were coming off a defeat down to 10 men, we worked hard and today needed to bring the three points back to Milan. It was a struggle, but we must be ready, because every game will be a battle from now on,” Lautaro told DAZN.

This was his 11th Serie A goal of the season, so he was asked if he can hit the target of 20 for the campaign.

“I hope to hit the maximum, as that will mean I helped the team, that is the most important thing. I want to help Inter, my teammates, the staff and the fans.”

Napoli seem to be the runaway leaders at the top, followed by a scrum in the fight for Champions League places.

“We are racing only against ourselves, as we dropped a lot of points, it’s a big gap at the top and Napoli play tomorrow. We must be calm, focus on ourselves and continue to improve.”

Next week it is the Derby della Madonnina with arch-rivals Milan, but Lautaro Martinez doesn’t want to hear about that until after the Coppa Italia quarter-final on Tuesday evening.

“First we have Atalanta, we need to recover energy because they play a special type of football. That too will be like warfare, then in the derby it’ll be another final like the one against Milan.”

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