Few voices are more authoritative when it comes to talking about football than Toni Kroos. And if we are talking about Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, two teams in which he won absolutely everything, the range is even smaller. Ahead of the second leg of the quarter-finals, the German legend analyzed the tie on the podcast Einfach mal luppen, which he shares with his brother Felix, to give hope to Real Madrid fans in the midst of the chaos.

“In the first leg, I wasn’t surprised by what happened in the game, although Bayern put in an excellent performance, but what happened after going 0-2 was the most striking aspect mentally. In recent years, Bayern have put in good performances against Real Madrid, but in the second legs they often fail to maintain their level or secure qualification, being affected by small details.”

“Let me explain. The 0-2 lead should have served to close out the game mentally and eliminate any doubt about the outcome, but what surprised me was that Bayern started to sit back and defend with less intensity.”

“At that moment, Bayern were in total control of the game and I expected them to continue to dominate or even extend the lead. I thought they would keep control through possession or add a third, fourth and maybe even a fifth goal, but the opposite happened.”

“The mistake made by Upamecano against Vinicius was a turning point in the match. After that, Real Madrid showed their character and created several dangerous chances between the 60th and 75th minutes despite being 0-2 down.”

“For me, Neuer is the best of all time, he is the only goalkeeper who is really fun to watch. What he does looks really good. He still has his own unique style. No one else has that. His presence, his movements, his elegance. It’s amazing.”