Chelsea came through the weekend’s match with Brentford by picking up another three points, but one incident has really frustrated Pat Nevin.
Chelsea are currently on a five-game winning streak in the Premier League after Sunday’s 2-1 victory at home to Brentford. As a result, they sit second in the division table, only behind leaders Liverpool by two points.
Alan Shearer has praised an “unbelievable” season from Chelsea, where they’ve managed to exceed everyone’s expectations so far. He doesn’t think they’ll have enough to win the league title, though.
Pat Nevin wound up by Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella
Pat Nevin picked out Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella as a major talking point from Chelsea’s win versus Brentford.
The 26-year-old left-back scored a superb headed goal and put in another eye-catching performance. However, he’s suspended for the upcoming trip to Everton because he picked up two late bookings, including one after the full-time whistle for a needless altercation.
Nevin’s frustration towards Cucurella comes from him going to ground after a clash with Sepp van den Berg during the contest.
He told the BBC Football Extra email newsletter (16 December): “The real story was the human spaniel Marc Cucurella and I usually use that description with affection. This time less so, he scored a fine goal, played exceptionally with no apparent footwear problems and then went down as if poleaxed with, yes you guessed it, a head injury after he walked into Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg.
“In the ensuing fury that carried on post-match, Cucurella got a second yellow card and is now suspended, which felt awfully like instant karma. On this occasion I can’t say for sure that the ‘head injury’ was feigned, maybe Cucurella did hurt himself, but Van Den Berg certainly had no blame at all.
“If the Spaniard was play acting, like he has on a number of occasions particularly when playing for his country, then he is off my Christmas card list and I don’t care if I am off his.”
Similarly, Brentford manager Thomas Frank criticised Chelsea defender Cucurella for hitting the ground and holding his face on the weekend.
It shouldn’t take away from what an outstanding individual campaign the Spain international is enjoying, but he can perhaps reflect and learn from the Brentford incident.
Marc Cucurella in outstanding form
It’s definitely a blow to be without Cucurella for the trip to Goodison Park to play Everton on Sunday.
Troy Deeney claims Chelsea’s Cucurella is “performing above expectation” right now and has found some consistency.
The all-action left-back has certainly been a key player behind Chelsea’s winning run since the November international break.
| Fixture | Minutes played | Goals | Assists | Match rating |
| Chelsea 2-1 Brentford | 89 | 1 | 0 | 7.3 |
| Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea | 89 | 0 | 1 | 6.3 |
| Southampton 1-5 Chelsea | 79 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa | 90 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 |
| Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea | 90 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 |
Renato Veiga has big shoes to fill as the most likely cover at left-back away to Everton.
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