3 Real Madrid players who must step up if Casemiro, Alaba can’t play vs. Manchester City

Toni Kroos

I think it’s fair to say that there has been a lot of criticism on Toni Kroos that he just doesn’t deserve. But, even then, his performances have gone down a little, and he will need to be at his best against Manchester City on Tuesday.

As we all are well aware by now, Kroos is not a defensive midfielder. But what I expect from him depends on what type of game Ancelotti wants Real Madrid to play. If Real are going to press Manchester City, then he should be playing as a deep-lying playmaker behind Camavinga (or Fede) and Modric.

If Real Madrid’s goal is to sit back and soak up pressure to hit City on the counter, Kroos can go anywhere, but I’d prefer he plays as a central midfielder. His usual role, but without being asked to chase shadows. This guy just does not have the legs for that, and Ancelotti needs to make sure that if Kroos is to feature against Manchester City, it must be in the role he’s good at.

If Ancelotti uses him as an outlet to get out of City’s press, that would be really, really good. Not doing that enough is what made Real Madrid lose the game in 2020, and Kroos would have to be more attentive to that because he won’t have Alaba to help him out with press resistance.

But, Kroos would have to tighten up some screws if Casemiro won’t be there. He’ll have to defend more, because his Brazilian partner wouldn’t be there to clean up the mess. The German maestro has shown that he is capable of making some defensive plays, but Ancelotti playing him as a presser just wouldn’t work.

We’ve seen multiple instances of him failing miserably in that role, and it’s better if he’s not asked to press. I don’t think Real should press against Manchester City, either, because the team they’re facing is probably the best when it comes to getting out of the press, and considering how bad Real’s pressing can be, it’s not worth it to ask the players to do that.

One more thing about Kroos, by the way, is that Ancelotti needs to make sure to sub him off sometime in the second half, because the energy shift from Kroos to a Camavinga or a Fede in the dying stages of the game is incredibly important, and it’ll be very useful against a Manchester City side that will keep a lot of possession.