Cucurella: Impressive Performance in 3-0 win over Barcelona
Marc Cucurella’s rise to the top of European football has been nothing short of remarkable. Once considered a raw but promising talent at La Masia, Cucurella has become one of the most reliable and dynamic left-backs in Europe. His journey has been treacherous, growing stronger, more composed, and accomplished with each obstacle thrown at him. Today, after a standout performance against Barcelona in the Champions League, backed by his Euro 2024 campaign and an impressive season at Chelsea, he is established himself as a world-class full-back capable of shutting down the world’s best while contributing significantly to his team’s attacking play.
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La Masia Beginnings
Cucurella’s story starts at La Masia, Barcelona’s legendary talent factory became a second home as he immersed himself in the club’s ideology and DNA. He watched defensive talents such as Carlos Puyol and Jordi Alba to give him a tactical education that many could only dream of. However, while Alba was given opportunities to grow into a top-class player for the Catalonian giants, Cucurella’s path to greatness was tough and jagged, but the lessons learnt in positional intelligence, instincts, and technique were forged at the academy, creating a foundation for his performances away from the club.
Quiet Years at Eibar and Getafe
After leaving La Masia, his two loan spells to Eibar and Getafe weren’t glamorous, teaching the harsh realities of professional football. No headlines, hype, or expectations forced Cucu to grind his way into the first team through defensive work in the trenches and gritty performances. At the time, these years seemed like ‘nothing special’. In hindsight, this time period became the foundation for the work ethic and defensive structure that would define Cucurella’s game in the years to come.
The Brighton Breakthrough
Graham Potter’s Brighton created a system that allowed Cucurella to truly shine. His individual skills and mentality were shaped in Spain, but his full potential was realised in his 2021-22 season for The Seagulls. He highlighted his versatility on both offense and defense, being played as a wing-back, left-back, and even as a left-center-back at times, adding to his lure as one of the most complete full-backs in the Premier League. His performances, naming him as Brighton’s Player and Player’s Player of the Season, placed him on the radar for every top club in England, before his big move.
Chelsea and Euro 2024’s transformation
Cucurella’s first season at Chelsea didn’t go as expected, with his £56 million fee seeming excessive for a club in chaos through multiple managers and unrealistic expectations. He was labeled by critics as overpriced, inconsistent, and unsettled, but his turning point came with Spain’s Euro 2024 campaign. Luis de la Fuente trusted him as the first-choice left-back, and Cucurella delivered.
He found his place ahead of Alejandro Balde and Alex Grimaldo, creating new confidence in his position for both the national and club sides. This season, he looks revitalised for Chelsea, with Maresca even saying that his ability to fit the system is defined by his time at La Masia, as there is a similar philosophy to Barcelona. He has now won everything there is to win in football as a key player in the side. His timing has been superb, acting as a consistent performer, proving that last season was an adaptation rather than a downfall.
Last Night’s 3–0 Masterclass: Yamal in His Pocket
In a commanding 3-0 victory over Barca, Cucurella delivered a defensive clinic against one of football’s brightest rising stars: Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona wonderkid, known for his electric dribbling and fearlessness, was completely neutralized. Cucurella matched him step for step, denied him space, blocked every inside lane, and frustrated him all night long. A statement performance, a player who was sent away on loan with minimal minutes shutting down a bona fide La Masia talent.
Yamal has had an outstanding Champions League campaign, with an Average Impact Rating (AIR) of 54.41, placing him at 13th across all players, with his 49.08 Average Attacking Impact Rating (AAIR) placing him at 9th across all players. His stats look even better when you look at players under the age of 24, with him behind Nuno Mendes and Michael Olise for the AIR, and the top player for the AAIR. His match against Cucurella last night gave him an average impact rating of 23.69, a fall from grace. His Average Impact Rating was 64.3 before this game, placing him at 5th across all players and dragging his average down 10 points.
In the match last night, Marc Cucurella received a 365Scores impact rating of 45.87, with 18.37 for attack and 27.5 for defense, enough for his man-of-the-match performance. Yamal’s AAIR was 20.49, almost identical to Cucu’s, highlighting the influence of the Spanish left-back. His pass completion percentage was 72, with 40% successful dribbles, a fall from grace compared to his form in the competition this season. Robert Sanchez added that ‘Cucurella has him [Yamal] in his pocket’, a statistically accurate description of the performance last night.
Where is Cucurella’s Career Now?
Marc Cucurella’s career is the story of a player whose grit, determination, and prowess defined his growth, along with his refusal to be set back or to let criticism define his ceiling. He proved his place in world football. From La Masia to mid-tier Spanish clubs, before his performances in the Premier League, every step built the footballer we see today. And last night’s performance was the perfect reminder that Cucurella is no longer a talent needing to be proven, or underrated, or an experiment.
He is a top-3 left back in Europe.
