Real Madrid: 5 biggest questions as attack sputters vs. Osasuna

Can people please give Toni Kroos credit?

Toni Kroos was a glaring omission from the list of 30 Ballon d’Or finalists. Despite being one of the best passers in the world (if not THE best) and a key player for Real Madrid, the No. 8 remains one of the most criminally underrated players on the planet.

Even though Real lost and failed to create many clear-cut chances, Kroos was one of the stars of the match. For my money, he was a class above everyone else on the pitch, in terms of the quality of his passing and his ability to completely dictate play from that left-hand side of midfield.

Kroos took good shots on goal from range. He made great teasing switches to the back post that his teammates failed to capitalize on. The German international completed 112 of 118 passes, registered two key passes, and was accurate on an astounding 16 of 18 long balls. Put it simply, Kroos deserved an assist and played well enough to merit being on the winning side.

It’s a shame Real Madrid’s front line is not consistent beyond Vinicius and Benzema, and it is a shame that the secondary players do not step up enough from a scoring standpoint. Because Kroos’ numbers would likely be through the roof otherwise. Apparently, all that matters today is assists from midfielders, even though we all know Kroos does so much more.

Madridistas give Kroos all the praise in the world, but it still feels like his overall greatness goes underrated by the masses. Kroos does so much great work even in otherwise poor displays from the team as a whole, and this match against Osasuna was another example of this.