Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed the contribution of midfielder Toni Kroos after the German scored his first Blancos goal in Saturday's 5-1 La Liga win over Rayo Vallecano.
Madrid were always in control at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu against a valiant but open Rayo side, and ran out easy winners with Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo also on the scoresheet.
Kroos, who joined Madrid for a bargain 20 million euros from Bayern Munich last summer, controlling the game from the centre of the park, while also laying on the game's opening goal for Bale, and guiding home a 25-yard curler to put his side 3-1 ahead at a key moment in the game early in the second half.
The Italian coach said afterwards that Kroos, along with fellow midfielder Luka Modric, had quickly formed a surprisingly complete partnership in the Madrid engine room.
"Kroos was the best player on pitch," Ancelotti said. "He scored today for first time. He has surprised me as he is playing at a very, very high level of play. He has to be careful with his position, although when he moves forward Modric can cover. The partnership is very good at the moment, they are playing very well together."
Ancelotti said he was happy with his team's performance in racking up their 13th consecutive win in all competitions, as Rayo's typically offensive approach had led to a more challenging game than usual at the Bernabeu.
"It was a good game, good too because we played against a team who tried to play," he said. "They caused us difficulties winning the ball back. We had to work a lot. But we played a good game, as we are usually doing at the moment."
Ronaldo had appeared set for a second consecutive game without scoring, having drawn a rare blank midweek in the 1-0 Champions League win over Liverpool, but he finally got on the scoresheet for a tenth consecutive La Liga game after his late shot was fumbled into the net by Rayo goalkeeper Cristian Alvarez. Ancelotti said neither he nor the Portuguese would have left unhappy had the run ended, pointing out that he had provided assists for the goals from Kroos and Benzema.
"I did not see Cristiano anxious, he was playing for the team, like always," the coach said. "He enjoyed giving passes to his teammates, helping them out. It is not a problem for me if he does not score in one game, and not for him either."
Bale also scored on his return to the starting lineup after a recent lower-back muscle injury, with Ancelotti saying the Wales international's return had not brought any great tactical change, while it had been a close call as to which of James Rodriguez or Isco was benched this time.
"We always try to play same way, it is true that Bale gives us more moving into space," he said. "But we always want to have control through possession. They are players with different qualities, I took the decision with Isco mostly as James had played less recently. The next game it could be different: Isco could play, and not James."
Ancelotti also explained that Bale this season had extra defensive duties in a midfield four when Madrid did not have the ball, while Ronaldo not asked to track back so much.
"I believe we are pressing better this season, with a more compact team," he said. "We do not always do it well, but we try. The change with Cristiano is just in defence, when he comes inside with Karim [Benzema]. He likes this more as he does not have to drop back so much to cover the full-back."