David Villa became Spain's all-time leading scorer Tuesday with his 45th international goal, taking sole possession of the record with the opening strike in his team's European Championship qualifier at Scotland.
The Barcelona striker scored a 44th-minute penalty after defender Steven Whittaker had handled the ball in the area to put Spain 1-0 ahead at halftime at Hampden Park.
Villa had until then been smothered by the home defense in his 69th international.
With fullback Joan Capdevila and Andres Iniesta taking turns to provide Spain with width on the left, Villa was playing centrally and Scotland's five-man midfield dropped deep when not in possession to help deny him space.
But he ended his two-game scoreless streak for Spain and broke the record he shared with former Real Madrid great Raul Gonzalez after Whittaker blocked Sergio Ramos' acrobatic shot.
The raucous home crowd jeered Villa as he ran up to take the shot but the joint leading scorer at this year's World Cup was unfazed, stroking the ball low to goalkeeper Allan McGregor's left.
