Toni Kroos deserves to start every big game for Real Madrid
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos put in a masterclass performance in El Clasico after he was rested against Manchester City.
Real Madrid secured victory against their eternal rival FC Barcelona in La Liga and leapfrogged the Catalans in the La Liga table with 12 matches to play. Los Blancos defeated Barca 2-0 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu with goals from Vinicius Jr. and substitute Mariano Diaz.
While everyone on the team performed at the highest level – including Marcelo who was a surprise inclusion – a special mention needs to go to Toni Kroos.
Kroos has been in scintillating form all season and is easily in the conversation for Real Madrid’s MVP this season alongside Casemiro. Kroos, with his performance in El Clasico and through his absence against the game versus Manchester City, proved how important he is to this team.
In the game against Barcelona, Kroos completed 64 out of his 65 attempted passes, had one assist, made four accurate long balls, completed seven crosses, and created two chances.
Defensively, Kroos had six recoveries, two interceptions, and completed two tackles. All in all, Kroos delivered both offensively and defensively.
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The midfielder also had a moment of absolute brilliance in the Clasico where ge pointed to Vinicius Junior to run into the space behind Barcelona fullback Nelson Semedo.
Once Vinicius started his run, Kroos released the ball for Vinicius to then carry it forward and score the first goal of the game. Moments like that sum up how intelligent and patient Kroos is as he held on to the ball until the moment was right.
The German midfielder was dropped in the Champions League round of 16 first leg against Manchester City and the team seemed to have seriously missed him. Without the German maestro, Los Blancos seemed to lack any form of control in the game.
Had the number eight been in the line-up, Kroos would have kept control of the game with his team leading 1-0. Instead, Los Blancos seemed to self-destruct and ended up conceding two goals and saw Sergio Ramos pick up a red card.
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The other midfielders also have to work harder without Kroos in the line-up. Isco – instead of staying in between the attacking and midfield line – has to drop deep to help ball progression. Luka Modric has to work harder to try and keep any form of control.
Fede Valverde started in the LCM role in that game and seemed a bit lost as he was not used to that role.
All these issues were solved when Kroos returned to the line-up versus Barcelona. His importance to this team cannot be understated, as he acts as the controller, the ball progressor, and as a chance creator for the team.
As Casemiro said in the documentary about Kroos, the German decides how Real Madrid plays, if he wants to play fast, they play fast, and if he wants to play slowly, they play slowly. For all these reasons, Kroos must start every big game from now until the end of the season. While he does need rest, he should only be rested in the small games.