Massimiliano Allegri described Luka Modric's display against Pisa as "incredible" after the midfield maverick popped up with a late winner for 10-man AC Milan on Friday.
Milan appeared set to drop more crucial points in the Serie A title race after Ruben Loftus-Cheek saw his opening goal cancelled out by Felipe Loyola in the 71st minute.
However, with five minutes remaining, Modric played a neat one-two with Samuele Ricci before lifting the ball over Nicolas from inside the six-yard box.
At 40 years and 157 days old, Modric became the third-oldest player to score in Serie A, after Alessandro Costacurta (41 years and 25 days) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (41 years and 166 days), and he was the standout player throughout.
Modric finished the game with team-high totals for passes in the final third (17), possession won (seven) and final third entries (eight), while only Strahinja Pavlovic had more touches (119) and accurate passes (94) than Modric's respective totals of 110 and 93.
"Quite aside from his marvellous technique, he really wanted to go and get this victory at the end," Allegri said of Modric, as quoted by Football Italia.
"We should all learn from his character and incredible humility. We're so happy to have him here, the younger players must make the most of working with him."
Modric's heroics were almost undone late on after Adrien Rabiot was dismissed in second-half stoppage time, but Milan held on to move within five points of leaders Inter.
The Rossoneri also continued their fine run of form. They equalled their third-longest unbeaten run in a single Serie A season, having gone 23 games without defeat (W15 D8).
Allegri's side are also one of only two teams, along with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, to remain unbeaten away from home in the top five European leagues this season.
But the Milan boss acknowledged the difficulties his team faced at Stadio Romeo Anconetani, with Niclas Fullkrug missing a penalty early in the second half.
"It was not easy tonight, because Pisa are an uncomfortable team to play against," Allegri added.
"They look like they’re sitting back and doing nothing, then can strike on the counter and caught us napping on their goal too.
"So we take three points, but we really need to improve after this performance."
With their win, Milan now have 53 points from their first 24 league games, equalling their second-best points tally in the three-points-for-a-win era (since 1994-95).
Allegri has continuously downplayed Milan's chances of challenging for the Scudetto, even though the Opta supercomputer has assigned them a 12% chance of overhauling rivals Inter at the summit.
Modric, however, was more optimistic about his team's chances of lifting their first top-flight title since 2021-22.
"It was important for us, we couldn't miss the win today, because we knew these points were crucial to stay in the battle for the league, and we did it," Modric told DAZN Italia.
"We relaxed a bit in the second half and didn't pay enough attention, and that is why they scored.
"So we pressed, went forward, and scored that goal which is very important for us. We are happy for the win.
"Every game is really difficult in Serie A, so we have to continue working, getting better, and focus on the next game."