Toni Kroos’s game vs Real Valladolid in numbers

One of the key Real Madrid players who stayed back from the World Cup due to international retirement, Toni Kroos, resumed his excellent season by putting in a solid shift in midfield tonight for Real Madrid in the team’s 0 - 2 win over Real Valladolid.

Kroos, who played as the team’s ‘6’, while Aurelien Tchouameni was being rested, was the player who Real Madrid looked to most in the build-up phase of the game.

As you can see from his heatmap below, the German midfielder covered a lot of ground:

Kroos’s 115 touches, as illustrated above, were the most of anyone on the field. The player with the second most touches was Ferland Mendy, with 72.

Kroos’s influence on the ball was apparent throughout the game, and though this was a ‘quieter’ game from the maestro, he was efficient as usual with his moments on the ball, as he also provided the team with three key passes, completed 97.7% of his passes, and even successfully completed all seven of his long ball attempts.

Kroos was vital to Real Madrid’s ball progression, as he acted both as a vertical passer and ball carrier up the field. It’s good to see the German playing football in a Real Madrid shirt again.