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Former Real Madrid superstar Toni Kroos claimed that he wasn't sure if the club would win against Barcelona despite them being up 2-0 at one point. Los Blancos eventually suffered a 4-3 defeat to their Catalan rivals on May 11 in LaLiga.
Sunday's loss to Barcelona marked the fourth time Real Madrid lost a Clásico this season. However, things appeared to be in their favor for the first half-hour of the game. Kylian Mbappe scored twice (5' and 14') in the first fifteen minutes, putting his team up 2-0.
However, Barcelona turned things around before the first-half whistle with Eric Garcia (19'), Lamine Yamal (32'), and Raphinha (34' and 45') scoring four goals past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Kylian Mbappe completed his hat-trick in the second half (70'), but it wasn't enough to secure Real Madrid a victory.
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In a recent episode of his podcast, retired Los Blancos superstar Toni Kroos shared his thoughts on last week's El Clásico. He claimed he did not believe Real Madrid would win even when they went up 2-0.
"Even after the 2-0, I had doubts that the game would go in Madrid's favor, to be fair. For me, it was a blessing to go 2-0 up. Barcelona continued playing as if nothing had happened. You can't tell they're afraid of losing. Madrid were still having doubts after that 2-0," Kroos said (via Tribuna)
During his career, Toni Kroos has faced Barcelona 28 times across competitions for Real Madrid. He won 14 times, lost 11 times, and drew three times against the Catalans. The former Germany international scored once against them and recorded three assists. The midfielder retired from professional football last year.
"We don't have that fear of them" - Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal makes feelings clear after beating Real Madrid fourth time this season
In an interview with ESPN following last week's 4-3 Clasico victory, Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal shared the reason behind the Catalans' success against their bitter rivals this season. He said:
"It doesn't feel good when Madrid beat you. It's true we didn't beat them last year, we suffered, and this year we gave everything to turn it around. We don't have that fear of them that maybe other teams have against them. So we gave it our all."
Yamal, who has scored or assisted in every clash against Los Blancos this season, added:
"We feel like we're better than every other team; that's the mentality we go out with. I think that's how you have to play against them. You have to show up like you're the better team and enjoy yourself, that's it."
Lamine Yamal has been exceptional in Clasicos this campaign, recording three goals and two assists against them. Out of Barca's four wins against them, two were finals - the Supercopa de España and the Copa del Rey.
Sunday's win also gave the Catalans a major boost in winning LaLiga, establishing a seven-point lead over Los Merengues. They need two more points to officially win the league.
