Marc Cucurella admits he ‘struggled a lot’ against attacker Chelsea were favourites to sign in 2022

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In the past 18 months, there are not many players who have got the better of Marc Cucurella in one-v-one situations. The Chelsea star has named the toughest opponent he’s directly come up against in his career, though.

Marc Cucurella, 27, has definitely taken his game to new heights recently.

He’s looked like one of the world’s elite left-backs for quite a while now, excelling as a key player for Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side. The aggressive defender has been outstanding on the international stage with Spain as well, winning Euro 2024.

Darren Bent’s assessment of Cucurella is that he’s the best left-back in the Premier League right now, something we definitely agree with.

• READ MORE: What Marc Cucurella said during his first Chelsea interview, it turns out he was spot on

Marc Cucurella names Ousmane Dembele as toughest opponent

Speaking in an interview this week, Chelsea’s Cucurella has named Paris Saint-Germain and France attacker Ousmane Dembele, 28, as his toughest opposition player.

Cucurella said via AS: “I’ve had the good fortune or misfortune to play against many, and all of them are very good, but if I have to choose just one, it might be Dembele, who is the toughest opponent I’ve faced so far.

“He’s very quick and uses both feet, so he can come out from either side… The truth is that I’ve struggled a lot against him because I didn’t know how to stop him, although, from what I’ve seen so far, he’s never let me down.”

Dembele, who can play anywhere across the frontline, has faced Cucurella in some huge matches. For instance, the duo locked horns when Chelsea beat PSG in the Club World Cup final and before that when Spain edged out France in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.

Even against some of the world’s best forwards, Cucurella can compete, and he’s developed his game to reach that high standard.

Cucurella puts his success at Chelsea down to the fact that Maresca plays a similar style to what he learned as a youngster at Barcelona.

Chelsea were favourites to sign Ousmane Dembele in 2022

Back in June 2022, it was reported that Chelsea were favourites to sign Dembele when he was still a Barcelona player. Instead, he signed a contract extension at the Camp Nou before leaving for French giants PSG a year later.

The Blues have gone through so many wingers under this ownership, so who knows if Dembele would’ve been a hit in West London? It is undeniable that he has phenomenal individual talent, though.

Cucurella may be glad he’s not competing with Dembele in training every week, but he’s still testing himself against the likes of Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian to keep himself sharp.