Kroos towers over Chelsea in new role: “Casemiro is gone, what should I do?”

“Toni, Toni, Toni,” echoed through the Santiago Bernabéu.

Toni Kroos ended his working day for Real Madrid in the quarter-final first leg once morest Chelsea (2-0) to standing ovations from the euphoric spectators. The protagonist applauded back and thanked him with a short, reserved gesture for the homage he had earned in the previous 83 minutes – albeit in a somewhat unfamiliar role.

Carlo Ancelotti offered the 33-year-old a station lower than usual in defensive midfield once morest the Blues. “Playing with Kroos as a midfielder helps us a lot to play the ball out from behind,” said the Italian coach, explaining his decision at the press conference in Madrid following the game.

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In fact, the Greifswalder once once more convinced in his own build-up game: Kroos made the most passes of all players (81) and impressed with a pass rate of 93.8 percent (usually dreamlike).

Kroos convinces with robustness

But the actual strategist, who in the past was known more for elegance and technical finesse than physical toughness, delighted the royal fans on Wednesday evening with his impressive robustness in the duels.

His former national team-mate Sami Khedira admired him following the game “DAZN” the “six duels”, which the 2014 world champion no longer shy away from – albeit forced, as Kroos described with a wink following the game. “Casemiro is no longer here, what should I do,” joked the Madrilene, who revealed unexpected qualities as a footballer.

Without the Brazilian vacuum cleaner, who switched to Manchester United last summer, the former Munich player took even more defensive responsibility once morest the team of interim coach Frank Lampard on the Thames.

Toni Kroos was once once more completely convincing once morest Chelsea

Fotocredit: Getty Images

Kroos with the best duel quota

“From the line-up we played without the classic sweeper,” Kroos analyzed following the quarter-final first leg at “DAZN”: “If you play a little deeper, there are automatically more duels. In a game like this you can accept them too.”

But Kroos himself came remarkably close to the role of the clearer: he led nine duels once morest the English capital club and won 88.9 percent – the best value of all players who were on the field for more than 45 minutes. The midfielder also remained flawless in the aerial duel.

With the most successful tackles (5), Kroos made a significant contribution to the fact that the defending champions secured an excellent starting position before the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week (Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. in the live ticker).

Kroos: “You have to counter that”

“We can be satisfied, we controlled the game well. The energy was good, the duels very good. It’s a good result”, leader Kroos praised his team, but immediately put the brakes on the euphoria following the match at Manzanares.

Toni Kroos (left) and Kai Havertz

Fotocredit: Getty Images

The 2-0 was a deceptive result, as the five-time Champions League winner warned his team following the first leg win.

Because at home in London, according to Kroos, Chelsea are a bit stronger than away. “You have to be there and fight back in the duels just like we did here,” the former German international made clear.

Kroos proved that he can now do that at the latest on Wednesday evening with his gala at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

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