After a run like the one Chelsea have been on, praise is always spread around. Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan, as they say.
We’ve heard plenty of love for the attacking players, but there’s also been a recent push to give Marc Cucurella his dues. This is partly just down to his good performances, but is of course also a response to the heavy criticism he’s had through large stretches of his Chelsea career.
Most fans (us included) had really given up on him by the midway point of last season. But his spell out injured seemed somehow to help him settle, and since his return in the new year he’s been vastly improved for Chelsea, and played a crucial role in Spain winning the Euros.
Saturday wasn’t his best game of the season – in fact WhoScored had him rated as our worst outfield starter with a 6.4 out of 10. But even then he was pretty effective.
Strong season can still go up a level
Against all the odds, two years on from some really low points in his Blues career, Cucurella is established as our number one left back, and in fact is a vital cog in Enzo Maresca’s machine, with his ability to invert and play inside suiting both the Spaniard’s game and Maresca’s preferred system.
That ideal marriage looks set to benefit both parties as the season goes on. Despite dropping his average on Saturday, Cucurella is rated as our 8th best outfield player in the league so far this season, and should look better and better as everyone gets more used to their new style of play.
With tough games coming up, we will need Cucurella at his tenacious best to keep up this impressive form we’re in.
