Inter striker Lautaro Martinez spoke of his pride at leading the team out as captain, as his two goals helped the Nerazzurri earn a 2-1 win over Cremonese this evening.

The Argentina international struck twice at the Stadio Giovanni Zini to take his tally to 11 in Serie A for the season, after Inter had been trailing early on.

In an interview with Inter TV after the match, and as reported by FCInterNews.it, Martinez revealed that he was delighted to have been entrusted with the captain’s armband in the absence of Samir Handanovic and the suspended Milan Skriniar.

“For me it is a source of pride to wear the armband at a club like Inter, I have worked so hard for it and my family will be proud too. The goals if they come are better for the team, I work for my teammates,” Martinez claimed.

The 25-year-old insisted that Inter were determined to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to Empoli last time out, and felt that they were unlucky to concede early on after a move that almost saw the Nerazzurri score at one end, before going behind at the other.

“Today was a very difficult match because of the result we had against Empoli, it was a tough defeat but the team got it’s head down.

“We knew it was difficult on such a small pitch, but we had to do our job. They scored a goal on which we could have done better, but put it over the crossbar. We were good at staying in the game and turning it our way.”

Martinez enjoyed a positive performance in attack alongside Edin Dzeko, and was full of praise for the veteran Bosnia and Herzegovina international, who is set to turn 37 this season.

“Edin is a very important player for the team, we all know what a career he’s had. He’s an incredible player and I always try to learn a lot from him, it’s the only way to raise the level. I am happy that he is doing well,” Martinez added.

Inter must now focus on the Coppa Italia, with a clash against Atalanta coming up on Tuesday, and Martinez was keen to enjoy further success in the competition.

“We have a couple of days to recover for the first Coppa Italia game, a very important competition that we won last year. We have to recover our energy and then think about what’s to come in the league,” he concluded.