Inter Milan hero Lautaro Martinez explains his goal celebration against Napoli

Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez has revealed he apologized to supporters following his well-placed goal in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Serie A leaders Napoli.

The Argentina striker — who had not scored since early October — latched on to Joaquin Correa’s pass and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner beyond David Ospina to send the home side 3-1 up on the hour mark. 

After his goal, the Nerazzurri forward seemed to be apologetic, rather than celebrating wildly. The 24-year-old has now revealed what transpired moments after his sixth league goal of the campaign.

“I apologized because mistakes can happen,” Martinez, who missed a costly penalty a fortnight back against AC Milan, told DAZN at full-time. “I was without a goal in almost a month. 

“As I said, I always try to work for Inter, it doesn’t matter if I don’t score, it matters if Inter don’t win. This is my family and it’s a wonderful emotion to see us win.” 

Inter had endured growing censure for failing to win against any of the so-called big sides this season, playing out draws against Atalanta, Juventus and Milan while suffering a 3-1 defeat by Lazio in mid-October. 

Martinez highlighted the importance of getting a huge result against Napoli on Sunday.

“It was a very important match for us, a head-to-head with the leaders and we deserved more from previous games, so we had to prove again that we are on the right track,” the Argentina international continued. 

“Sometimes the results don’t go our way, but the team played with intensity and character today, bringing home three important points.”

With Milan’s 4-3 loss at Fiorentina on Saturday and Inter’s defeat of the Naples outfit, Simone Inzaghi’s team closed the gap at the top of the table to four points after 13 games.

Next up for the Serie A defending champion is a Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, before travelling to in-form Venezia on November 27.

---

Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.

-----

Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.