Marc Cucurella has come a long way since his arrival at Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion three years ago.
There was one stage where Cucurella could not get into the team and almost joined Manchester United on loan.
Fast forward to now, and the defender is easily one of Chelsea’s most important players. He played such a key role in their 3-0 win against Barcelona on Tuesday.
START, BENCH, SELL: Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Malo Gusto
Which order are you going with? 🤔
Estevao Willian’s goal was sensational, but Chelsea fans here on The Chelsea Chronicle went with Cucurella as their Player of the Match. Supporters of the club regard the 27-year-old as the best left-back in the game, and now it is time for others to start doing the same.
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Marc Cucurella is now the best left-back in the world
In 2024, Cucurella helped Spain to win the European Championship, even providing an assist in the final against England.
Since then, he has gone on to get his hands on both the Conference League and Club World Cup trophies. Simply put, Cucurella is enjoying success at both club and international level.
In terms of individual performances, he is one of the most consistent players in the Premier League right now. His defending has also been immaculate, just ask Lamine Yamal.
Cucurella completely shut down Yamal, one of the world’s elite wingers, on the biggest stage.
What Marc Cucurella’s managers have said about him
According to Sofascore, he made 10 defensive contributions during Chelsea’s tie with Barcelona. No other player managed to record more.
This season, Cucurella has not been too much of a goal threat. However, in the previous campaign, he scored seven times in all competitions, which is an impressive tally for a defender.
The Spain international can attack and defend. He is the complete full-back.
Before the start of the season, many considered Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes to be the best left-back in the world, but at this stage of the campaign, Cucurella has taken that crown from him.
Chelsea were criticised for how much money they spent on Cucurella, while the former Brighton man was also under fire after his early struggles at Stamford Bridge. But he has completely turned things around and now has to be viewed as the best player in his position by those very critics.
John Terry thinks Marc Cucurella is up there with the best
John Terry has stopped short of hailing Cucurella as No.1, but the Chelsea legend thinks he should be part of the conversation.
Terry spoke about Cucurella following Chelsea’s victory over Barcelona and said: “I also have to speak about Cucurella, how good was he last night? I’m going to put it out there. He is one of the best left-backs in world football at the moment.
“He is everything I want to see in a Chelsea player at the moment, aggression, great one vs one, a threat going forwards, the threat he shows in every aspect of his game is what I love about him as a player.”
Cucurella will be tested once again this Sunday when Enzo Maresca’s side take on Arsenal.
He is likely to go up against Bukayo Saka, another of Europe’s top wingers. But after his success against Yamal and considering his current form, you would back Cucurella to come out on top.
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