Lautaro Martinez lauded Inter for putting everything they had into getting a win against Genoa to put right last weekend's disappointing loss to Juventus.

Inter struggled to find a breakthrough on Saturday at San Siro, until Lautaro Martinez met Hakan Calhanoglu's corner to head home the winner in the 78th minute.

The Nerazzurri have laboured of late, winning just one of their four games prior to this win - a period in which Martinez failed to score - and while they may not have impressed, they did enough against Genoa.

Inter have now won three home games in a row for the first time in Serie A this season; the last time they had managed such a run in the tournament was between October 2023 and March 2024 (nine in a row).

It was a victory that took Inter top of Serie A, one point above Napoli, who face Como on Sunday, and Martinez was pleased to get it over the line.

"It wasn't a game of great quality, but we put our heart and soul into it," Martinez told DAZN.

"The important thing was to take the three points after the loss against Juventus that hurt us very badly. We are standing, concentrated.

"I'm happy for this victory, for my team-mates and the fans."

Martinez has struggled this season to repeat his goalscoring form of recent campaigns. The Argentine netted at least 20 league goals in each of the last three seasons, while the goal against Genoa was his 10th this season.

However, he became the first non-Italian player in Inter's history to reach double figures in six different Serie A seasons. His goal on Saturday was also his 113th in the league for Inter, moving him to joint-sixth in their all-time scoring charts.

His goal ensured they put the pressure on Napoli, who Inter meet in a crunch clash next weekend, and Martinez was asked if Saturday's victory was a signal for their title rivals.

"No, it's a signal for us, that we are still here after the Juventus defeat," he replied.

"It can happen that you miss goals, these games are decided like this. We need to continue to grow in this aspect."