Luka Modrić, who is 41 years old, has set a new Serie A record for the most assists after his 40th birthday. He surpassed Zlatan Ibrahimović, now having four such assists, while Ibrahimović had three. The data was published by statistical platform Opta and refers to the period from the 2004/05 season, when the Italian league began being played with 20 clubs.
Modrić recorded the record in the eighth-round match, played on Sunday evening at the Friuli Stadium in Udine. Milan beat Udinese 2-0, and the key moment occurred in the sixth minute. Modrić took a quick free kick and sent the ball over the defence to Christian Pulisic on the break. Pulisic ran in alone against the goalkeeper and scored to give Milan an early lead.
Omari Hutchinson confirmed the win in the 65th minute. Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye saved a shot by Ardon Jashari, and Hutchinson scored his first goal for Milan. Hutchinson joined Milan on loan in the summer.
With this win, Milan ended a run of three away draws, against Juventus, Lazio and Sassuolo. Ruben Amorim’s team remains unbeaten in the league. Milan is in fourth place with 18 points, four points behind leaders Inter.
Eurosport Italia rated Modrić seven, highlighting the assist for Pulisic and his visionary pass for Fikayo Tomori. Portal MilanNews gave Modrić a rating of 6.5, while Milan Vibes rated him seven.
Before the match, Adrien Rabiot, Diego Moreira and Mario Gila were injured, while Alexis Saelemaekers and Matteo Gabbia were unavailable.
