The Real Champs
Fansided

Real Madrid: Toni Kroos’ five best games for the club this season

By Nithanth Ravindran

MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 1: Toni Kroos of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 1, 2020 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 1: Toni Kroos of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 1, 2020 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
VIGO, SPAIN – AUGUST 17: Players of Real Madrid celebrate after Toni Kroos scores the second goal during the Liga match between RC Celta de Vigo and Real Madrid CF at Abanca-Balaídos on August 17, 2019 in Vigo, Spain. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
VIGO, SPAIN – AUGUST 17: Players of Real Madrid celebrate after Toni Kroos scores the second goal during the Liga match between RC Celta de Vigo and Real Madrid CF at Abanca-Balaídos on August 17, 2019 in Vigo, Spain. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images) /

4. Celta de Vigo vs Real Madrid 1-3 (17/08/2019)

Celta de Vigo? Again? Well, as I said, Kroos loves Celta. Or hates them.

Either way, this was another great performance from the German Maestro vs the Galicians. This was the first league game of the new season and Madrid hadn’t lost a league opener in 10 seasons.

Kroos started the game quite well, but it was around the 56th minute that he stepped it up a notch.

Modric was shown a straight red and Los Blancos suddenly were a man down with half an hour to go and the score sitting at 0-1. That’s when Toni decided to take control of the game.

Everything after Modric got sent off started flowing through Kroos. He took complete control of the midfield and let being a man down affect the team.

To prove he was back to his very best for the new season, he let loose a 40-yard screamer that bounced off the crossbar and went in to make the score 0-2. It was the perfect icing on the cake for a great performance.

MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 1: Toni Kroos of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 1, 2020 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 1: Toni Kroos of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 1, 2020 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

3. Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona 2-0 (1/03/2020)

This was a very important game for Real Madrid.

More from The Real Champs

Win and they leapfrog their eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, to the top spot. Lose and they’ll be five points off the top of the table. Madrid also hadn’t won a Clasico at home since the 2014/15 season.

Kroos had been left on the bench for the first leg against Manchester City in the Champions League, so he was well-rested for this clash.

It was up to Kroos to prove manager Zinedine Zidane had made the right decision to rest him for the Clasico.

Boy did he prove the boss right.

Kroos helped Madrid dominate Barcelona, controlling everything that the team did. He completed 66 of his 68 passes – a 97 percent completion rate – and gave the assist for Vinicius’ game-winning goal. That assist is going to be etched in every Madridistas’ mind for years to come. Kroos pointing out to Vinicius to make the run and then cooly making the pass as if in a training session is what makes the goal so special.

Kroos made a great return to the line-up and showed everyone why he has been hailed as the best midfielder this season.

Home/Analysis