Real Madrid: Five Man of the Match candidates against Chelsea

CM Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos has been magnificent in 2020-2021. He’s been so good, in fact, that his first leg was seen as a huge disappointment, when, in fact, he wasn’t bad at all. Kroos had a rough start to the match, hobbled by injury. But he recovered well in the second half, controlled the game more as Real held onto a draw, and defended hard with four tackles and two interceptions, per WhoScored.com.

Kroos has been at the heart of some of Real’s finest performances this season, including the 3-1 wins over Liverpool and Atalanta. Who can forget the two goals he created with the long ball against the Reds at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano? He had four dribbles completed, four interceptions, and 93.4 percent of his 91 passes completed against Atalanta, too.

After resting against Osasuna, Kroos is ready to rock against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He will go toe-to-toe with a tough midfield, but, so far this season, only Atletico Madrid’s rough-and-tumble group has proven capable of quieting Kroos. And nobody has silenced the German sniper across two legs.

Courtois is out to make a statement against his old club, but Kroos is also out to make a statement, albeit in a different way. He wants to show the world that he deserves Ballon d’Or candidacy for his brilliance. And the way to do that is to shine on the brightest stages.