Paul Merson has noticed Marc Cucurella likes to dive in with a lot of his tackles, but thinks Chelsea’s head coach has found the perfect solution to help.
Graham Potter, whose side have won three consecutive games to relieve some pressure on him, has switched to a back three in recent matches.
The change of formation has definitely helped certain individuals, including Cucurella.
It’s been a challenging debut season at Stamford Bridge for the 24-year-old defender. However, he looks the part lately as the left-sided centre-back in the back three.
The Sun claimed this week that Cucurella is now feeling a lot happier at the club.
Sky Sports pundit Merson definitely prefers Cucurella in this new role over him at left-back.
He’s spotted the Spaniard has a front-footed approach with his defending and thinks he can dive into challenges, but the system he’s playing in allows him to play his natural way.
“Marc Cucurella has done really well recently. Sometimes he can dive in, if you’re doing that in his position on the left of the three then there’s a safety net behind you if you don’t win the ball. For all three of the central defenders, there’s a safety net for them from each other,” Merson told Sky Sports.
Cucurella looked tentative and nervous of making mistakes in the opening months of his Chelsea career, so it’s no surprise his levels dropped from the player he was at Brighton.
We are beginning to see someone with a lot more confidence, though.
His aggression in defence is definitely a trademark of his game, and it’s not something you want to completely erase.
As he gains more experience, he should be able to use that fearlessness in a smarter way.
Antonio Rudiger is a fantastic example of how a centre-back can be both assertive and smart at the same time.
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