Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after incredible win over Barcelona

Is Real Madrid’s midfield back to his unrivaled best?

When Real Madrid’s midfielders are playing to the fullest of their abilities, there may not be a better midfield in world football. Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Fede Valverde, and Casemiro were all vital in El Clasico, playing to their strengths and filling unique roles perfectly.

Modric, who has been Real’s best outfield player in 2020-2021 thus far, started the game on the bench for some extra rest. When he came in, he scored and helped Real immensely defensively.

But the strongest performances were by the starters, who all mesh so well together. Casemiro brought the steel in midfield, making some big interventions against Barcelona’s resident superstar Lionel Messi.

Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde were even better. Valverde had another big-game match, scoring the opener with a lovely striker’s finish. He ran Barcelona ragged, bossed Frenkie de Jong yet again, and had two tackles and interceptions apiece.

As for Kroos, he had a vintage Clasico performance. The Germany star led the team with 66 passes, completing about 94 percent of them. He had three accurate crosses. And five of his passes were key passes to boost his average up from 3.3 to 3.8 on the season.

Kroos’ performance in midfield was especially encouraging. When this man is on his game, there is nobody better. Real Madrid ask a lot from him, and if he can keep delivering like this in big matches, Los Blancos can weather a lot of storms for the rest of 2020-2021.