Real Madrid wins at the Clásico thanks to Toni Kroos. The recently demoted player proved his worth to the royals with his goal.
The impressive resurrection of Toni Kroos only did not knock Cristiano Ronaldo off his seat.
CR7 in the stands
When Real Madrid’s German director filleted FC Barcelona’s defence with a deadly pass and virtually decided the clásico, the entire Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was standing – only CR7s remained in their VIP seats and clapped their hands briefly in joy.
Although Ral’s former superstar had returned for the first time since his departure in 2018, he left the limelight to the recently demoted Kroos.
Kroos last on the benchAfter the Madrilenians’ 2-0 (0-0) defeat of their arch-rivals, whom Real toppled from the top of the table, the Spanish sports paper Marca urged emphatically: “This Kroos must not be missing a minute more. A clear message to Real coach Zinédine Zidane, who had left the international on the bench for another 90 minutes in a 2-1 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League last 16.
After that 71st minute, when Kroos sent Vinicius Junior deep by pointing and the latter refined to a 1-0 lead, it is difficult to find arguments against the German.
Kroos convinces and gives the game stability
The scorer was also full of praise: “Toni played a beautiful pass for me,” said Vinicius, who confirmed that they had rehearsed the move in training. But Kroos not only impressed with that one flash of inspiration, with a 98 per cent accuracy of pass, he also gave the team the stability that had been lost against City – a decisive factor in the win.
After Mariano Diaz (90.+2) had ensured clear conditions in added time, Zidane in particular was visibly relieved. Another setback after three matches without a win could have triggered a serious national crisis. The super-GAU failed to materialize.
“I said before that it was an opportunity to raise the bar again and that’s what we did from the beginning,” said Zidane. Meanwhile, the Frenchman dealt well with criticism for not taking Kroos into account in the premier class and everything else that went wrong against Manchester.
Ramos: “…if anyone has an ass in their pants, it’s Zidane.”
According to Zidane’s captain Sergio Ramos, no wonder. “I don’t know if Zidane is appreciated, but if anyone has an ass in their pants, it’s Zidane,” said the defensive chief, who had a verbal exchange with Barca’s Gerard Pique after the game.
Typical Clásico. The Catalan, he said, had seen “the worst Madrid” in the first half that he had ever encountered at the Bernabeu.
The Madrileneans did not actually turn up the heat until the second half with their counter-pressing, but Ramos still thought: “I would immediately sign up to win any Clásico with such a bad half, as he says. Thanks to Kroos, they did.