When Toni Kroos trotted to the touchline after 78 minutes, things got loud again. The Bernabéu, which had previously been grumbling and whistling, gave strong applause. The well-kept game is appreciated here, and that was particularly embodied by the man with number eight on this evening – even if not quite as sparkling as in some other recent appearances.
Kroos is the anchor and trigger in the Real Madrid team. And since his announcement that he would return to the German national team, the big question has been whether Kroos, at the age of 34, can give the other white jersey a fresh shine.
Lust for conquest
Only practice will show this. Because, on the one hand, it depends on how national coach Julian Nagelsmann composes his overall role model for the European Championship. And on the other hand, what role Kroos and his new, old team will be placed in over the course of 90 minutes (or more).
All in all, the optimists felt encouraged in the 1-1 draw against Leipzig on Wednesday evening. They were able to enjoy the arsenal of passes with unlimited possibilities; every team would like to have a player with this natural ability in their ranks. To do this, Kroos often drops deep, right up between the central defenders.
Whatever he sets out from there arrives, regardless of the distance. In addition, he shows a striking desire for conquest; one can no longer say that he is reluctant to give up the jersey in the washing machine. It fit into the encouraging part of the picture that a ball he intercepted resulted in Vinicius Junior making it 1-0.
However, pessimists could note that Kroos also reached his limits, and not just those of his uninspired colleagues that evening. When Leipzig got up to speed from deep, the spaces would occasionally open up threateningly, and when the game got wild towards the end, not even Kroos, the man with metronomic skills, was able to calm it down.
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Was it dwindling strength, the wear and tear of the past few months? In any case, he was on the verge of being sent off because precision was increasingly lost in the duel. At least he found it in the analysis afterwards: “It’s not the case that we deserve to be further ahead,” he said at the DAZN microphone. And beyond that, nothing really new.