WHAT HAPPENED?
At 39 years and 40 days old, Modric made history by becoming the oldest player to appear in a competitive match for Real Madrid, surpassing a record that had stood for nearly six decades. The previous record-holder, legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskas, played his last match for Real Madrid in May 1966 during a Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Betis at the age of 39 years and 37 days. And the Croatian midfielder surpassed him during Los Blancos’ 2-1 victory against Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday evening.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Real Madrid faced a tough challenge at Balaidos after Celta Vigo equalised early in the second half, cancelling out Kylian Mbappe’s opener. With the game on the line, manager Carlo Ancelotti turned to Modric in the 63rd minute, hoping his experience would make a difference. And the Croatian did not disappoint. Just three minutes after coming on, Modric produced a moment of magic, threading a perfect pass through Celta’s defence to release Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian forward kept his composure, rounded the goalkeeper, and slotted the ball into the back of the net, restoring Real Madrid’s lead, which secured three crucial points for the visitors.
WATCH THE CLIP
Vinícius Júnior makes it 2-1! 🇧🇷
Luka Modrić with a perfect pass to the Real Madrid winger who applies the finish ⚪ pic.twitter.com/6mi8Ps0g9l
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV)
October 19, 2024
LUKA MODRIC WITH AN UNREAL ASSIST TO VINI JR!
Just minutes after subbing on to become the oldest player EVER to appear for Real Madrid 🍷 pic.twitter.com/gXptTKRT91
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC)
October 19, 2024
WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?
Despite Real Madrid’s struggles in patches of the game against a resilient Celta Vigo side, the individual brilliance of Modric, Mbappe, and Vinicius secured a much-needed victory. Ancelotti will be relieved to see his key forwards on the scoresheet as the team heads into an important week where they will face Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League, followed by the highly-anticipated El Clasico against Barcelona.