Real Madrid legend believes that Barcelona will improve following El Clasico defeat | OneFootball

Following the loss to Real Madrid recently, FC Barcelona have seen a lot of people be critical of them. From analytical criticism to even the unnecessary kind, there have been a lot of voices that are beginning to doubt Barça and Hansi Flick right now.

Yet, interestingly enough, it is none other than a Real Madrid legend himself who has recently assessed the game between Los Blancos and La Blaugrana as he highlighted tactical and technical aspects of the game.

The player in question is none other than Toni Kroos, and he is a man known for his outspoken nature. Speaking on the ‘Einfach mal Luppen’ podcast (via Barca Blaugranes), he first decided to assess Flick’s decision to field Eric Garcia over Ronald Araujo:

Moreover, he justified his opinion regarding Araujo by claiming that he would have been a good counter to the explosiveness of Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe:

”When you have Mbappé and Vinícius in front of you, you need someone who can match that pace. Araújo can do that. I was very surprised by his absence.”

Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Kroos also decided to highlight the absence of Inigo Martinez, and explained how it was negatively impacted Barça this season:

“I already commented at the time: Íñigo Martínez was very important. Last year he was the Barça centre-back with the best ball output. He wasn’t the fastest, but he was an excellent defender and had a great building game. Against Madrid, his absence was noticeable when the team suffered high pressure. They did not replace him and that is taking its toll on them.”

Beyond just that, the former German midfielder was sensible enough to acknowledge the injuries that Barcelona is currently dealing with as well as the recent suspension of Hansi Flick and admitted that the team will improve once those key players return:

”It’s fair to say that Barça arrived very weakened: from the goalkeeper to the coach because Flick couldn’t be on the bench… They were also missing key players such as Raphinha, Dani Olmo or Lewandowski and that is very noticeable in a match of these characteristics. I’m sure they’ll go further.”

While these are some wise words from Kroos, they are simply a reflection of just how many things are going wrong at Barcelona right now. With Pedri now injured as well, Flick’s management skills will be tested more than ever in the upcoming games.