Simone Inzaghi said on Monday that Lautaro Martinez is in a race against time to be fit to play in Inter Milan's Champions League showdown with Barcelona at the San Siro.

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez is expected to miss the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona next week after picking up a hamstring injury.

The UEFA Champions League remains the one major honour that has slipped through his fingers, with Inter narrowly missing out in the 2022–23 final against Manchester City.

Argentina striker Martinez has agreed to pay 5,000 euros ($5,463) as part of a plea bargain with the FIGC, whose rules ban taking the Lord's name in vain.

Martinez joins Argentina's growing list of absentees, including captain Lionel Messi, sidelined with a muscle strain, along with Gonzalo Montiel, Giovani Lo Celso, and Paulo Dybala.

Argentina striker Martinez's deflected header from a corner in the 78th minute was enough for champions Inter to get past revitalised Genoa and move a point above Napoli, who are at Como in Sunday's early kick-off.

Inter's skipper had not scored for his club since Nov. 3 in a 1-0 win over Venezia.

Argentina striker Martinez lashed home his fourth goal of the season in all competitions on the hour mark after a poor clearance from Zeki Celik to give Inter a hard-fought win at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Lautaro confirming his intention to stay at Inter is a huge boost for a club which headed into the close season in uncertain mood after a sudden change in ownership.

It’s a huge relief for the Inter Milan marksman, who had experienced a miserable 18 months.

With Messi sidelined after complaining of a sore right hamstring, and coach Lionel Scaloni serving a one-game suspension, Argentina made nine changes to their starting XI at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Just as it looked like Argentina would be made to rue their missed chances substitute Martinez pounced on a rebound from a corner and lashed home a right-footed shot in the 88th minute to ensure victory and a top-two spot in the group for the defending champions.

Lautaro Martinez, this season's Serie A top scorer, put Argentina ahead with a penalty kick in the 39th minute before netting his second from a Messi pass after the break.

"Now, I feel like crying because we worked so hard, suffered so much, we deserved this joy," the 26-year-old told DAZN.

Angel Di Maria, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez rescued Argentina on Tuesday as the world champions came from behind to beat Costa Rica 3-1 in an international friendly in Los Angeles.

Martinez has gone 16 consecutive games without scoring a goal, spanning a total of 772 minutes.

Argentina striker Martinez joined the 100 club in Italy's top flight when he opened the scoring in the 15th minute in southern Italy.

Argentina forward Martinez glanced home the decisive goal in the 14th minute of an action-packed contest in Florence in which Nicolas Gonzalez wasted a late penalty for the hosts, who had Inter on the back foot for much of the game.

Lautaro Martinez shot Inter Milan to a third straight Italian Super Cup after netting in the final moments of Monday's 1-0 win over furious Napoli in Riyadh.

Inter's dynamic attacking duo made sure their team took full advantage of closest rivals Juventus only drawing at Genoa on Friday to put daylight between Simone Inzaghi's side and the rest of the chasing pack