Bernd Schuster has been critical of Toni Kroos of late, and the German midfielder has admitted that Real Madrid, to a man, failed to reach their best level in a 4-1 defeat to Ajax.
Kroos' passing was uncharacteristically poor on Tuesday evening, with the Madrid midfield simply unable to cope with Ajax's attacking movement.
"To a man, we've failed to reach our best level," he explained in an interview with COPE, "[and] I'm the first to admit that."
"I think we've played well in the Copa del Rey, but when you get a 3-0 defeat it's always difficult.
After being eliminated from the Champions League for the first time since 2015, there is a sense that Tuesday evening marked the end of a cycle for Los Merengues.
"It's normal for you to have a bad year," he admitted.
"What's not normal is what we've done over the course of the past three years.
"We also suffered last year and had some good games this year."
Ajax must be commended for their own efforts, though, with Frenkie de Jong looking like the perfect midfielder to succeed at Barcelona, and Kroos believes that the Dutch giants were worthy of their victory.
"We're disappointed, but I think Ajax were the best team today," he confirmed.
"They were also better in the first leg.
"It's difficult, but we have to accept the fact that they deserve to be in the quarter-final."
ceddepyz
72
Is not the end life .... we are glad that we made the past three seasons and fail this season you can’t be win , win we don’t blame the coach or players is only a bad season but I’m sure we will make it next season but don’t forget the we are still the best team in world when it comes to UCL we only learn a lesson thanks to all the players and Solari as well
Elsa98
58
Out of all competitions in just 1 week..😟
Zuzceklp
24
Real Madrid Missed CL without CR7 and CR7 will surely miss CL at Juventus without REAL madrid. 😂