{"id":13498,"date":"2025-11-26T12:27:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T12:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=13498"},"modified":"2025-11-26T12:30:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T12:30:10","slug":"cucurella-impressive-performance-in-3-0-win-over-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/cucurella-impressive-performance-in-3-0-win-over-barcelona","title":{"rendered":"Cucurella: Impressive Performance in 3-0 win over Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/marc-cucurella-50191\">Marc Cucurella\u2019s<\/a> 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/team\/fc-barcelona-132\">Barcelona<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/league\/uefa-champions-league-572\">Champions League<\/a>, backed by his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/league\/euro-6316\">Euro 2024<\/a> campaign and an impressive season at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/team\/chelsea-106\">Chelsea<\/a>, he is established himself as a world-class full-back capable of shutting down the world&#8217;s best while contributing significantly to his team\u2019s attacking play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#la-masia-beginnings-following-the-path-of-jordi-alba\">La Masia Beginnings<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#quiet-years-at-eibar-and-getafe\">Quiet Years at Eibar and Getafe<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-brighton-breakthrough\">The Brighton Breakthrough<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#chelsea-a-rocky-start-and-a-steady-rise\">Chelsea and Euro 2024&#8217;s transformation<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#last-nights-3-0-masterclass-yamal-in-his-pocket\">Last Night\u2019s 3\u20130 Masterclass: Yamal in His Pocket<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#a-journey-defined-by-persistence\">Where is Cucurella&#8217;s Career Now?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"la-masia-beginnings-following-the-path-of-jordi-alba\"><strong>La Masia Beginnings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cucurella&#8217;s story starts at La Masia, Barcelona\u2019s legendary talent factory became a second home as he immersed himself in the club&#8217;s ideology and DNA. He watched defensive talents such as Carlos Puyol and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/jordi-alba-116\">Jordi Alba<\/a> 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&#8217;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"quiet-years-at-eibar-and-getafe\"><strong>Quiet Years at Eibar and Getafe<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After leaving La Masia, his two loan spells to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/team\/eibar-164\">Eibar<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/team\/getafe-140\">Getafe<\/a> weren&#8217;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 &#8216;nothing special&#8217;. In hindsight, this time period became the foundation for the work ethic and defensive structure that would define Cucurella&#8217;s game in the years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-brighton-breakthrough\"><strong>The Brighton Breakthrough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Graham Potter&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/team\/brighton-38\">Brighton<\/a> 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/league\/premier-league-7\">Premier League<\/a>. His performances, naming him as Brighton&#8217;s Player and Player&#8217;s Player of the Season, placed him on the radar for every top club in England, before his big move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"chelsea-a-rocky-start-and-a-steady-rise\"><strong>Chelsea and Euro 2024&#8217;s transformation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cucurella\u2019s first season at Chelsea didn\u2019t go as expected, with his \u00a356 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/team\/spain-5050\">Spain&#8217;s<\/a> Euro 2024 campaign. Luis de la Fuente trusted him as the first-choice left-back, and Cucurella delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He found his place ahead of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/alejandro-balde-98688\">Alejandro Balde<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/alex-grimaldo-39937\">Alex Grimaldo<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2157711365-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Marc Cucurella of Spain\" class=\"wp-image-13514\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by Alex Pantling &#8211; UEFA\/UEFA via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"last-nights-3-0-masterclass-yamal-in-his-pocket\"><strong>Last Night\u2019s 3\u20130 Masterclass: Yamal in His Pocket<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In a commanding 3-0 victory over Barca, Cucurella delivered a defensive clinic against one of football\u2019s brightest rising stars: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/lamine-yamal-131182\">Lamine Yamal<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/nuno-mendes-77441\">Nuno Mendes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/michael-olise-65785\">Michael Olise<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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&#8217;s AAIR was 20.49, almost identical to Cucu&#8217;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. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/player\/robert-sanchez-80478\">Robert Sanchez<\/a> added that &#8216;Cucurella has him [Yamal] in his pocket&#8217;, a statistically accurate description of the performance last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-journey-defined-by-persistence\"><strong>Where is Cucurella&#8217;s Career Now<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Marc Cucurella\u2019s 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\u2019s performance was the perfect reminder that Cucurella is no longer a talent needing to be proven, or underrated, or an experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>He is a top-3 left back in Europe.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRg5ltIiBMJ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRg5ltIiBMJ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRg5ltIiBMJ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by 365Scores (@365scores)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marc Cucurella\u2019s 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. &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":13540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,2509,2014,2340,2338],"tags":[135,1126,10,4263,1887,4265,4267,4268,2811,4269,4262,4266,13,108,2173],"class_list":["post-13498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-champions-league","category-euro","category-la-liga","category-premier-league","tag-brighton","tag-champions-league","tag-chelsea","tag-cucurella","tag-euro-2024","tag-getafe","tag-la-masia","tag-left-back","tag-luis-de-la-fuente","tag-man-of-the-match","tag-marc-cucurella","tag-maresca","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-yamal","article_type-discover","entity_type-athlete","inspiration-relevancy-trending"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13498"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13550,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions\/13550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}