CM Toni Kroos
When Toni Kroos plays poorly, Real Madrid tend to go south. That was the case against PSG. Kroos was outclassed by Marco Verratti to the point where he was barely perceptible. And going into this game, Madridistas, perhaps arrogantly, thought Kroos would control the midfield with ease and be a key to victory.
That was not a false conclusion on prior evidence, but Kroos ended up having a really disappointing day. His passes were not accurate, and he failed to impose himself on the ball. Kroos completed below 90 percent of his pass attempts and didn’t offer enough progressively.
Rating: 5.0
DM Casemiro
Casemiro’s suspension for the second leg really hurts Real Madrid, though, at least, there are more options to replace him than there are for Ferland Mendy at left back.
The Brazilian did make some good plays defensively with four tackles, and aside from one silly backheel attempt in his own half, he was good on the ball. His pass completion percentage was only marginally lower than Kroos’, and he made and attempted one more long pass than his German counterpart in midfield.
Rating: 7.0
CM Luka Modric
Like Toni Kroos, Luka Modric was a serious disappointment for Real Madrid. Nothing he did on the ball came off, and he struggled to progress play with PSG pinning Madrid deep. Modric was always going to be important to Real’s ability to get up the pitch and transition, and he may have been the most disappointing player on the pitch, when you account for the fact that Karim Benzema was injured and Vinicius Jr.’s effectiveness was always going to wane without a fit Benzema.
One of the best midfielders in the world, Modric did not live up to his reputation at the Parc des Princes. As much as Madridistas love him, they must be honest there. Modric did a lot of good work defensively, but he was just too weak in his attacking contributions to earn a positive rating.
Rating: 5.0