Toni Kroos praises Antonio Rudiger for self-control – ‘I have to say, chapeau’

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has praised Antonio Rudiger for not rising to Sergio Ramos, as so many others have done in the past.

Los Blancos drew 1-1 at the weekend with Sevilla, and Ramos was naturally the centre of attention, even forcing Rudiger’s face into a smile with his hands. This resulted in a heated confrontation between the two.

But during his podcast ‘Einfach mal luppen’, as carried by Diario AS, Kroos explained that things would have gotten much more ‘entertaining’ if it weren’t for Rudiger using his head.

“Sergio painted a smile on his face. Things got heated. As for Antonio, I have to say: chapeau. He was one away from suspension and the next weekend there was Clasico, which meant at that moment that he couldn’t mess up. That was probably what slowed him down a bit. Otherwise, it would have been even more fun.”

Had Rudiger been suspended, Carlo Ancelotti would have been down to two central defenders in Nacho Fernandez and David Alaba. Rudiger has been omnipresent this season for Los Blancos since Eder Militao went down with injury, rising to the occasion as he did towards the end of last season. While Ramos may have scored an own goal against Barcelona several weeks ago, the Real Madrid legend did not end up doing them a favour this time.