CM Toni Kroos
Like the last Derbi, Diego Simeone strategized throwing Toni Kroos off his game by playing physical and targeting him. He had Rodrigo De Paul focus his efforts on early, cheap fouls. Kroos was fouled five times, yet he still controlled the match for Real Madrid. In another subtly strong game, Kroos led the team with 96 pass attempts, completing about 94 percent of them.
Rating: 7.5
DM Casemiro
Casemiro was the counterweight to whatever Atletico Madrid tried to throw at Real Madrid physically. He is the man nobody wants to mess with in midfield, and he has a penchant for delivering his best performances in the big games. The 29-year-old completed seven of eight long balls and delivered his most comfortable match on the ball in weeks. Casemiro also won two tackles and three interceptions to reinforce his status as a premier defender in midfield.
Rating: 8.0
CM Luka Modric
Take a bow. Luka Modric has been working his ass off these last few weeks when Real Madrid needed this kind of class and effort the most, and he finished this gauntlet stretch of matches with his best performance of the season yet. Modric was all over the pitch defensively, constantly recovering the ball for his team. Atleti could never get into a rhythm because of Modric’s sensational quality on the ball and in disrupting passing lanes. The first goal of the match started because of his astute defending. The stats say Modric had four dribbles completed, three interceptions, and two tackles, but it feels like he had a lot more.
Rating: 9.5