Real Madrid: Ranking the top 5 players of 2020-21 after 30 matches
1. CM Toni Kroos
We finish with Toni Kroos, whose recent displays may have enabled him to usurp Kevin de Bruyne as the best midfielder in the world. De Bruyne has more assists, but he also plays further up the pitch. Kroos has eight assists of his own in La Liga to go with three goals, but the German is more about pulling the strings and controlling matches. He is a guy who builds to assists, even if he is indeed capable of providing them at a high rate.
We saw prime examples of Kroos’ ability to create goals from thin air against Liverpool. His first pass to Vinicius Junior over the Liverpool defense was the pick of the bunch, as there was simply no way for the Reds’ back line to defend that. You can’t find the defense for the perfect pass. For those of you who follow American football, it’s essentially the same principle. The analogy would be a perfect back-shoulder throw from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams.
Anyway, Kroos is good for a couple of jaw-dropping passes, but he’s honestly more about the death-by-a-thousand-cuts approach in midfield. He will pick teams apart with his brain, doing so with a suaveness that probably leads those outside the Madrid fanbase to underrate him.
Next. The best Real Madrid player to wear every kit number. dark
Elegant as ever, Kroos has 2.3 key passes per game, 1.5 tackles per game, and 1.1 fouls drawn per game. He is blowing everyone out of the water with his passes into the final third and other progressive passing numbers this season, particularly in the Champions League. We’re talking about the best players here, and nobody on Real Madrid has been better than Kroos thus far.