The legendary Real Madrid side that Toni Kroos was part of clashed with Chelsea several times in the Champions League.
Those fixtures saw Kroos have to go up against some incredible players, including Reece James, N’Golo Kante and Enzo Fernandez.
And it is fair to say that the German did not enjoy one of those battles.
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Real Madrid have not really replaced Kroos since his retirement, but Fernandez continues to be linked to the Santiago Bernabeu and is quite a similar player to the 2014 World Cup winner.
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos trying to tackle Chelsea counterpart N'Golo Kante
Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images
Toni Kroos hated playing against N’Golo Kante
Unsurprisingly, Kante was the man Kroos did not enjoy playing against, and the ex-Real Madrid star has explained why.
When asked to name his toughest opponent, Kroos responded: “My toughest opponent? I don’t really know. As I said, I’ll stick with N’Golo Kante. It was always one of those midfield duels. Not super often — we didn’t play each other that much — but whenever we played Chelsea, he was always an unpleasant opponent. Not because he kicked a lot or anything like that, but because he always seemed to be there. That’s annoying.”
While Real Madrid have struggled to replace Kroos, it has not taken Chelsea long to find a successor to Kante.
The Blues signed Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion the same summer that Kante left the club, and he has been an absolute revelation for them.
Caicedo has impressed Yaya Toure and many others with his performances this season. There is no doubt that he is another midfielder Kroos would not have relished playing against.
Real Madrid Toni Kroos warming up
Photo By Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images
Why Toni Kroos and others had such a hard time against N’Golo Kante
As Kroos highlighted, Kante could pop up at any time and any moment to thwart an offensive move.
He may just be the best ball-winning midfielder of this generation. According to WhoScored, the Frenchman had averages of 4.8 and 4.7 for tackles per game in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons. That is incredible.
With tackling like that, it is no surprise that even an elite midfielder like Kroos found it tough to play against Kante.
Kante had a great career at Chelsea, winning both the Premier League and Champions League during his time there. Had it not been for injuries, it could have been even greater.
Hopefully Caicedo can now follow in his footsteps and win the same trophies at Stamford Bridge.