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This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets...

Zinedine Zidane adopted quite a risky approach on matchday six when Real Madrid welcomed Osasuna to the Santiago Bernabeu.

The schedule in La Liga is definitely heating up and with games being really close to each other, Los Blancos decided to reshuffle the deck a bit and rotate the squad.

With that in mind, the French manager still decided to leave some of the regular first-teamers in the lineup to add balance - a decision that worked perfectly.

One of those experienced players that had to take on extra leadership responsibility was Toni Kroos, Real's 29-year-old midfield maestro.

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With Luka Modric still not with the team, it was up to the German to dominate and control the proceedings in the middle of the park, something he wasn't able to do against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

After that display in Paris, Kroos was subjected to harsh criticism from many Real Madrid fans who were urging him to improve his performances.

If the latest bout with Osasuna is any indication, it seems the midfielder has heard their rallying cries and decided to step up his game. And step it up he did.

Kroos was Real Madrid's Man of the Match according to Whoscored's system, with a total rating of 8.11 under his name. He tallied one assist, three key passes and overall passing accuracy of a sublime 95.8%.

But Kroos was also contributing to the team's defensive phase as well and worked hard off the ball. As a result, he recorded two tackles and two interceptions in the process, establishing his presence all over the pitch of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Needless to say, that was the Kroos we all know and that's exactly what he's capable of on his day.

Real Madrid are now back at the very top of the La Liga table and are intending to stay there but they will need their German maestro performing like that on a consistent basis if they want to achieve it.

Against Osasuna, Kroos was back at his brilliant best - but can he keep rising in form as the season goes on?