It was the moment that symbolised the coronation of a new king in Milan.

Lautaro Martinez had pulled Inter back into the game against Bayern Munich. The Argentine ran to the Curva Nord, jumped on the advertising board and basked in the moment.

Martinez, still standing atop the board, put his arms out and faced the pitch, lapping up the adulation. The image will become iconic in time, a moment in which he truly announced himself as one of the best forwards in the world, two games where he delivered on the big stage.

Much like Inter themselves, Martinez is growing in Europe, asserting his authority when it matters most.

The 4-3 aggregate win against Bayern means Simone Inzaghi has brought Inter to a second Champions League semi-final in three years, the same tally as every coach pre-Inzaghi.

There is no greater sight in world football than a full San Siro on a European night, in a game of absolute importance. The atmosphere was electric, the constant din deafening, but a team as experienced as Bayern wasn’t going to let the noise affect them.

Inter, meanwhile, had lost the last four meetings against the German giants at home. Recent history was against them. But Martinez wanted to reverse that.

From the off, the 2022 World Cup winner led by example. Martinez showcased all the best elements of his talent across the two legs: dropping deep to collect the ball, dribbling at Bayern’s players, able to switch the play from one side to the other.

Deceptively strong, Martinez wasn’t afraid to dig deep and do battle against Eric Dier and Kim-min Jae, men much more rugged and adept at the physical side of the game than the Argentine.

Martinez’s goal in Munich was one of the best in the competition this season, his outside-of-the-foot curler following Marcus Thuram’s sumptuous and telepathic back-heel a masterclass in first-time finishing.

And it’s his partnership with Thuram that’s made Inter such a threat in the last two seasons. The Martinez-Romelu Lukaku relationship seen under Antonio Conte was fruitful but had limitations: Martinez was still young and Lukaku lacked the technical subtly Thuram brings.

Now, Martinez has blossomed into a true leader and Thuram is also capable of dropping deep and picking up the ball, allowing his partner to run in behind.

The Martinez-Thuram combination has made Inter more unpredictable than LaLu, as Martinez and Lukaku were dubbed, ever were. 

Martinez had been accused of lacking a winners’ mentality. He’d endured a torrid World Cup in Qatar, continually fluffing his lines in the opening games, to the extent he was dropped after the second game against Mexico for the remainder of the tournament.

In last summer’s Copa America, he came off the bench to great effect, scoring five goals in six games — including the winner in the final — as Argentina retained their crown.

Now 27, Martinez is coming into the prime of his career and his performances for Inter in Europe this season are finally matching the reputation he’d been handed earlier in his career.

In the return leg, Martinez was by far the best player on the park. At one stage, he transformed into Lionel Messi, the ball sticking to him as he nutmegged Leon Goretzka, held off the challenge of Joshua Kimmich and ghosted past Goretzka a second time in the middle of the pitch before releasing Federico Dimarco to his left.

Six minutes after Harry Kane had given Bayern the lead and levelled the tie up, Martinez reacted quickest to slam the ball home from an Inter corner. It was his fifth consecutive goal in the Champions League and he became the first Nerazzurri player to do it, something former greats Ronaldo, Adriano, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Christian Vieri were never able to achieve.

Handed an 8/10 by Gazzetta for his performance, the two games against Bayern proved the naysayers wrong, that in fact he’s now the player many envisioned him to be several years ago.

Awarded the captaincy after Samir Handanovic’s retirement, this is very much his Inter. Martinez could’ve very well left the club after winning two Scudetti and especially with Inter’s finances still precarious, the club would’ve made a hefty profit.

Yet Martinez opted to stay in the hope of bringing back a first Champions League trophy since Jose Mourinho. Eight goals in this season’s competition represents his best return since moving to Europe.

He’s become more assured as a player, more of a leader, and now he’s morphed into the symbol of Inzaghi’s Inter. 

Barcelona now await in the semi-final, and with it comes memories of 2010. For Martinez, it’s another chance to prove he belongs in the conversation as one of the best forwards in the game.

But one thing is already certain, that image of Martinez standing on the billboard will become one of the defining images of not just his career, but of the Inzaghi era.

The moment when Martinez justified the hype.