Player Analysis Thread – Marc Cucurella
- Tactical role and responsibilities under Potter
- Why a lot of criticism is unwarranted
- Dynamic with Mudryk
- What he is doing wrong and can improve on
As always, all rational debate, feedback and RTs are warmly appreciated.
- Tactical role and responsibilities under Potter
- Why a lot of criticism is unwarranted
- Dynamic with Mudryk
- What he is doing wrong and can improve on
As always, all rational debate, feedback and RTs are warmly appreciated.
Marc Cucurella's recent performances have divided the Chelsea fanbase. After struggling with a serious bout of tonsillitis which led to him losing 5-6 kgs earlier in the season, Potter alluded to off-field problems which led to his erratic form. The conversation turned
toxic after West Ham, where Cucurella was blamed for a) lack of overlaps/underlaps b) lack of supply/support to Mudryk c) non-progressive mentality. Are these arguments valid? For this thread, I analysed his performance in two games, vs West Ham & Liverpool to try & elucidate.
Why West Ham, Liverpool? Both are good in att. transitions, & have quality inside forwards (Salah, Bowen) who often drift inside to cause damage. Cucurella was tasked with marking them from LB (vs Liverpool, Ziyech dropped to WB but was at RW, hence Cucu was still primarily LB.)
Tactical Role: At Brighton, Cucurella wasn't an attacking LB. In 6 games in 21/22, he completed 0 crosses. In 16 games, he only completed 1. In 35 league games, he had 1 assist, 1 goal & 3 big chances. In 10 games already this season, he hasn't even attempted a single cross.
Where Cucurella excelled at Brighton was ground duels (61% win @ Brighton, 63% @ Chelsea), marking tightly & closing down ferociously. His tenacity & quickness make him a proactive, front-foot defender (note how quickly he anticipates + reacts to danger)
In build up, Cucu is the 3rd CB, allowing Reece to push further up. Coming from a Futsal background, Cucu is comfortable against the touchline. It is his job to draw pressure & retain possession under pressure. His passing% in his own half is good at 88%.
This is why a lot of his work involves drawing the press, then simple back passes to his CB. The riskier options are a diagonal pass to CM or to the winger down the line. You can see how Enzo & Mudryk are usually under close scrutiny, so Cucu passes back.
After build up, watch his positioning. He inverts, taking up a "false fullback" position in a 2-3-5/2-4-4, next to two other CMs (Ruben + Enzo vs Liverpool) or one CM + FB/CB (allowing second CM to roam.) Also note how he stays within closing distance of his markers (Salah/Bowen)
This allows him multiple benefits. He participates in central overloads which leave space for his winger (note he asks for Mudryk to be found.) He can also close Bowen/Salah high to delay/stop the transition and he can recover loose balls with his speed.
Vs West Ham, note how intelligent his positioning is. It is always relative to Bowen; if Bowen is free, he stays back. If Bowen is pressuring/drifting away, he pushes up. Also observe how Cucu immediately pushes up for the goal after Bowen's knock.
Over-cautiousness: A lot can be attributed to Chelsea's defensive woes vs counters. Like mentioned before, both opp. teams are good at transitions. First clip is what happened the first time Cucu underlapped vs West Ham. The other, when he stayed advanced.
Then there's how many times he was left to defend 2v1 vs both sides. While marking Salah & Bowen, he was forced to also close down opposing fullbacks (Milner & Coufal) or a CM drifting wide (Souçek/Henderson) because CMs/wingers did not track back in time
Dynamic with Mudryk: The above errors were notable multiple times vs West Ham, as Mudryk did not show enough intensity in closing down his man. Multiple times, Cucurella was left in two minds - whether to step up or to mark Bowen.
Even BT Sport highlighted Mudryk's error post Cucurella's sloppy pass for the goal, highlighting a lack of intensity in closing down the cross from his man (Coufal) that led to the goal.
However, the whole "Cucu not passing to Mudryk" has been exaggerated. West Ham sat in a 5-4-1, ensuring Mudryk was marked by Coufal & backed up by Kehrer (RCB), making take-ons risky. Cucu was only following his tactical brief (even apologized to Mudryk)
There were opportunities to pass to Mudryk (or cross) in situations vs West Ham & Liverpool, however, that he did not take. This is down to Cucurella wanting to play safe, both teammates relatively unfamiliar with each other's abilities. This will improve.
Vital to stress that finding Mudryk isn't Cucu's exclusive responsibility. With FBs inverting, there were good chances to isolate Mudryk, when the ball was central or on the opposite flank. There needs to be more emphasis on quick switches to him
Where Cucurella needs to improve is his poor body orientation while receiving in build up. A strong bias to his right foot sees him try to almost always play off it, making him predictable. It also started the sequence of events leading to West Ham's goal.
He would also do well to tone down a tendency to be over-aggressive in his def. 3rd. This is an occupational hazard, & it is natural that when mistakes happen, they make him look woefully out of position & clumsy. However, the upside far outweighs the bad.
Cucurella's perceived inability to play forward/prog. passes isn't concrete. He does have the ability to pick smart passes from deeper positions. Here are a few in which he helps the team escape a press, or creates an opening. He just plays safe by default
Potter's using him in a role that plays to his strengths & arguably will adds a lot more to the team than meets the eye. Cucu won 100% of his ground duels vs West Ham (4/4) & 70% vs Liverpool (7/10). He stuck to Salah like glue and nullified him well.
To sum up, Cucurella shouldn't be compared to Ben Chilwell or any conventional LBs as they're both different profiles. Cucurella is closer to a Walker in terms of a rapid, inverted FB who works best at delaying/delaying with transitions. Potter's using him to allow Reece James
to push higher, to allow Mudryk to focus more on attacking. There were +ve signs wrt their understanding too, when Mudryk tracked back to help, and Cucu made runs to open up space for Mudryk to run into. One of those moments led to Kai's offside goal.
A different interpretation/perception of his skills will hopefully show his role in a new light. He hasn't been great, but he also hasn't merited anywhere close to the kind of vitriol directed his way. This thread hopes to offer perspective & encourage a more constructive debate.
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