Real Madrid struggled in the opening 25 minutes against Granada. Then they found their breakthrough and it came from the brilliance of Toni Kroos.

Carlo Ancelotti made a change from the squad that beat Napoli by 4 goals in C1, with Joselu Mato replacing Dani Ceballos. That meant Real Madrid played a quick attack from the opening stages, but failed to find a goal until the 26th minute. That’s when Toni Kroos received the ball from 30 yards from goal, and he put it at the feet of Brahim Diaz, who scored to continue his great form.

Kroos has repeatedly delivered key moments that Real need over the past 9 years, and this is the most recent. The image of Toni Kroos being dropped to his knees by his young teammate as a shoe polish gesture to celebrate the goal confirmed once again his status as king at the Bernabeu.

Real’s special celebration.

Real Madrid won 2–0 against Granada. They dominated the game, although Granada’s defence stood firm for the first 25 minutes. It was Toni Kroos who opened the way into that defence with a sublime assist for Brahim Diaz to score the opener. In a moment of jubilation, Diaz chooses to pay tribute to Kroos by shining his shoes.

 

Real Madrid then played even more comfortably. In the 57th minute, Rodrygo made it 2-0 when the Real Madrid player headed wide of the Granada goalkeeper. Rodrygo is having a good season at Real Madrid. This was the 5th consecutive game the Brazil international scored for the White Vultures.

Los Blancos’ numbers in this match are far ahead of their opponents. They scored 2 goals in 11 shots and 4 shots on target, controlled the ball 71% of the time and passed the ball 811 times, achieving an accuracy rate of 93%, receiving 6 corners compared to the opponent’s zero. Again, these have a major contribution by Kroos. He coordinated play in midfield and barely lost a single pass. Every touch, every pass and every dribble he made was near perfect.

Kroos remains an important name for Real Madrid.

In that win, the German midfielder was rated 8.4 points by Sofa Score. In 90 minutes of play, he touched the ball 148 times, successfully passing 122/130 times (94% rate), including 17/18 long passes. The 33-year-old won 7 duels, fouled 1 time and fouled 4 times. He actively contributed to the defense with 2 successful interceptions and 3 tackles, including 4 successful dribbles.

With this result, Real Madrid and Girona lead La Liga with 38 points from 15 games. Real Madrid have a better goal difference than Girona, so they are temporarily in the No. 1 position. The two teams met in the first leg in September and the White Vultures won 9-3. The second leg early next year will be an important contributor to the La Liga title race this season.