Toni Kroos said on the 'Einfach mal Luppen' podcast, which he hosts with his brother Felix, that Barcelona have major defensive issues when they cannot get at opponents with their pressing. He made the comments while discussing Barcelona's two most recent performances against PSG and Real Madrid.
In the Clasico, Barcelona suffered their first LaLiga defeat, losing 1-2. The result moved Real to within three points of Barcelona in the table, with Barcelona top on 27 points from 10 matches and Atletico Madrid second, level on points with Real.
Kroos on Barcelona's defending
Kroos explained: "When Barcelona cannot get at their opponents for a while, they are not good at defending. If Barcelona cannot get at them with their pressing, they have major problems with switches of play or balls in behind. The game against Paris showed that too. They then have major problems because they still defend in a very high-risk way."
Praise for Real Madrid's setup
Kroos said: "I think, and this is clear praise for Mourinho, that Real set themselves up superbly against Barcelona, especially without the ball."
Kroos saw a different approach from Real this time: "Of course, they had spells when all they did was defend. After the equaliser, everyone would have taken a 1-1 draw. But I think they played a really bold game without the ball for 60, 65 minutes, saying: 'Okay, we're not going to sit back here; we're going to close them down high up the pitch.' Whenever Barcelona played backwards, they pushed up boldly. That was not the case in the last Clasicos. They spent the whole game chasing after them and conceded one goal after another."
What Kroos said about Real on the ball
He added: "With the ball, Real had many more opportunities to hurt them even more."