Luka Modric, 39, became the oldest player to ever feature for Real Madrid as his side beat Celta Vigo in La Liga.
The Croatian provided the assist for Vinicius Jr’s match-winning goal soon after coming on as a second-half substitute, and helped guide Real to victory in a tough encounter.
Real are now level on points with Barcelona – who play Sevilla at 20:00 BST on Sunday – at the top of Spain’s top flight but trail them on goal difference and have played a game more.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti called Modric a “top professional and a great guy”.
“It’s a pleasure to coach Modric, to work with him. Everything he’s been able to achieve and is achieving, he deserves,” Ancelotti told Real Madrid TV.
They went ahead after just 20 minutes thanks to a wonderful long-range strike by Kylian Mbappe, who took one touch and whipped the ball into the top corner after a pass from Eduardo Camavinga.
But it was far from a dominant performance from Ancelotti’s men and Celta enjoyed many of the best chances. Williot Swedberg should really have netted before Mbappe, but fired wide when one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois.
Real were shaky defensively and Celta often tested them with counter-attacks, while the Madrid club did not cause many problems for the hosts.
Celta eventually got their reward for their attacking intent just five minutes after the restart when Swedberg turned home after Oscar Mingueza whipped a low delivery into the box.
Vinicius thought he had swiftly restored Real’s lead, but he had a goal ruled out for offside – just as Borja Iglesias had done for the visitors after Mbappe scored.
The Brazilian managed to get Real back in front 10 minutes later though, when he connected with Modric’s well-weighted pass from deep in midfield and turned the ball past Vicente Guaita.
“I’m happy because we won after the international break, which is not always easy,” Ancelotti said of the result.
Real are next in action when they play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday (20:00).
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