Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte was proud of his players after their stunning 3-0 derby defeat of AC Milan.

A Lautaro Martinez brace and Romelu Lukaku saw Inter comfortable winners.

“My players deserve the praise, it was a well-prepared game, they were the absolute protagonists on the pitch," Conte told DAZN.

“It was a nice game, it was a derby with a lot of pressure because both teams are up there in the table.

“I'm happy because we prepared the game well. We were good to make the most of the opportunities against a strong team," the coach continued.

“Milan and Pioli deserve the praise for what they've done, we want to dedicate the win to our fans, their welcome at the stadium gave us goosebumps and even more responsibility."

Are Inter the Scudetto favourite now?

“I fear the next two games against Genoa and Parma. That's when we must prove we have done a further step to remain on top of the Serie A table," Conte claimed.

“Genoa have only lost one game since Ballardini arrived. Parma are struggling despite having a good team, these two games will tell us a lot about what we can achieve.

“We always study how our opponents' defend in order to enhance the qualities of our players.

“It always depends on the characteristics of our opponents. Today we tried to press high on the pitch with Hakimi and Perisic when we had a chance.

“At the beginning of the season we were always pressing high up the pitch and sometimes we suffered it, now we are handling these situations much better.

“Self-esteem increases when you beat direct rivals. Today's win confirmed we are improving, we must continue this path, good results are helping us and it's easier for me to make players understand my ideas."