Al comienzo de la temporada, Marc Cucurella parecía dispuesto a dejar el Chelsea cedido y informes recientes lo vinculaban nuevamente con una mudanza el próximo enero. A principios de este mes, ni siquiera había aparecido en el primera división. But the Spanish left back continued to work hard behind the scenes and in Saturday's game against Arsenal, he was one of Chelsea’s best performers.
Defensively strong, intercepting balls in different areas of the pitch and even surging forward to press Arsenal's back line, he spurred on his team – and automatically the home crowd – with his energetic displays.
At the end of the recent transfer window, Cucurella was reportedly close to a loan-move to Manchester United, while other clubs were also mentioned as possible destinations for the former Barcelona graduate. But a move didn't materialise and on the evidence of Saturday's match, Chelsea can be pleased about that.
After the game, manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke about his plans for Cucurella this season and said: “I think it's a natural process. It is so clear when we arrived here three months ago that some players were in a position where they maybe stay or maybe go.
“I didn't know the past, I can only choose the players that we believe can perform. Marc and the club decided to stay in the last transfer window. And of course, he is training really well, that is why he is playing like [he did] today, playing really well against a very good player like [Bukayo] Saka. That is him, he deserves the credit because in the last few months he has worked very hard and he was [also] able to play on the right side.”
Otro jugador que destacó en la zaga fue Thiago Silva, cuya marcación, interceptación y bloqueo de tiros no daban la impresión de tener ya 39 años. Mykhailo Mudryk también jugó bien, y el delantero consiguió un gol inesperado cuando su centro desde la izquierda pasó por encima de David Raya para poner el 2-0 justo después del descanso.
Pochettino was pleased with the Ukraine winger's performance, but insisted he can still improve and that he is not at his best level yet. Promising words for the Chelsea faithful about a player who has now scored two in his last three Chelsea games, while he was also on target for Ukraine earlier in the week.
Cuando Mudryk salió al minuto 66, recibió una gran ovación. Desde el banquillo vio entonces cómo el Arsenal volvía al partido, cuando Declan Rice aprovechó un balón suelto en la zaga del portero Robert Sánchez.
"En el fútbol este tipo de situaciones pueden ocurrir", dijo Pochettino. “Tenemos que aceptarlo, hoy estamos en una era del fútbol en la que queremos jugar desde atrás. Por supuesto, en el fútbol pueden ocurrir errores”.
Pochettino indicó que su equipo podría haber sido más clínico, quizás mejor defendiendo un resultado, en lugar de intentar siempre encontrar una solución futbolística, pero el argentino admite que es parte de un proceso de aprendizaje.
“Todos los equipos ganadores siempre dirigen y dirigen los partidos donde quieren y leen situaciones en las que hay que estar tranquilo, cuándo jugar, cuándo correr riesgos. Estas cosas llegarán con el tiempo”, afirmó.
Overall, Pochettino was pleased with the performance of his team, even though it felt like two points dropped in the end. “Yes, because I feel until 77 minutes when we conceded the first goal, I think we were in control and didn't concede many chances against a team like Arsenal, [who] are an amazing team, they were fighting last season for the trophy and I think this season improved with some players also,” he said.
"Creo que estamos en un buen momento", añadió. “Necesitamos mantener este impulso después de las tres victorias antes del parón internacional. Creo que tenemos que seguir adelante, realmente creemos que podemos hacer algo bueno en el futuro”.
Para el Chelsea, se ve una tendencia alcista en el primera división desde principios de octubre, cuando vencieron al Fulham.
Coincidentally or not, Mudryk scored his first Chelsea goal in that match and Cucurella played his first minutes in the league this season. Since then, both have been a key part of the Blues' recent resurgence under Pochettino.
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