When Real Madrid lined up against Manchester City on Wednesday in the Champions League, one key figure was surprisingly missing in the midfield. Toni Kroos was benched by Zinedine Zidane in this crucial tie. The Croatian star Luka Modric, Fede Valverde, and Casemiro started the game alongside Isco who scored the only goal for the Los Blancos.
Another interesting thing about the German was his prolonged conversation with Pep Guardiola before the game. Toni Kroos had played under the Manchester City boss for one season at Bayern Munich. The two have shared a special bond since then. After Manchester City’s comeback at the Bernabeu, the German is being linked to a Premier League move.
Just a couple of days before this tie, Kroos had claimed that Guardiola is still the favorite manager amongst the Bayern players. He also went on to say that Pep asked him to renew his contract at Bayern. But he refused, despite the fact that he loved playing for the ex-Barcelona manager.
City fans would love to see Kroos at the Etihad
After watching the video of Kroos’ and Guardiola’s intense conversation, the citizens are excited to see how this folds out. The rumors in England say that the German might join the sky blues if they are able to overturn their Champions League ban. They were recently fined banned by UEFA for two years due to the violation of Financial Fair Play rules.
Manchester City are in pole position to qualify for the quarter-finals this season after their late comeback at the Spanish capital last night. Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne clinched two crucial away goals after City had gone down 1-0. The Los Blancos would face a tough challenge away from home next month in the absence of Sergio Ramos. The Real Madrid captain was sent-off for a foul on Jesus.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian holding midfielder Casemiro is still confident about the second leg.
“The tie isn’t finished yet. We played spectacular 75 minutes against a great team. If there’s any team capable of overcoming this deficit in the second leg, it’s Real Madrid.”
Zinedine Zidane will turn his attention towards the Spanish league now as the men in white will host Barcelona on Sunday. The result of this game will be crucial to the fate of Real Madrid’s domestic campaign.
