Marc Cucurella hit with ruthless verdict from Spanish media after eight Real Madrid games
The Spanish media have offered their verdict on Marc Cucurella after eight games for Real Madrid – and it doesn’t make for pretty reading.
Cucurella penned a six-year deal with Real Madrid after completing a £47.3million move from Chelsea back in June, with a further £4.3million in add-ons.
The World Cup winner appeared to be the perfect fit for the left-back role, given his vast experience at the highest level, but it’s fair to say the jury is still out on the full-back eight games into his Real Madrid career. Cucurella is yet to register a goal or assist and has appeared inconsistent in defence.
The 28-year-old formed part of Jose Mourinho’s starting XI for Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to city rivals Atletico Madrid, and he did not produce his best performance. Cucurella was arguably at fault for Jonathan David’s goal after failing to stop Giuliano Simeone’s cross in the build-up.
Spanish media give brutal Cucurella verdict
Spanish media outlets delivered scathing assessments of his performance following the match.
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Sports Illustrated gave Cucurella a rating of 6.8/10, stating: “A mixed outing against Simeone. Desperate for help at times, but Vinícius Júnior was uninterested. Easily bested by the Argentine in the build-up to the hosts’ second goal.”
Mundo Deportivo described his performance as that of a “stranger” before adding: “The full-back was completely unrecognisable in the derby. Weak defensively and ineffective in attack.”
Meanwhile, AS wrote: “Giuliano caused him huge problems. Even for a Cucurella accustomed to these kinds of battles. This time, though, he finally cracked.
“He held up in the first half, but the punishment came after the break. He arrived a little late on the play that led to the penalty, and Kang-In and Giuliano combined to beat him on the move that made it 2-0. It simply wasn’t his day, and it was the worst possible day for that to happen.
“That said, he was left alone to deal with the danger.”
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Managing Madrid provided a similar assessment, giving Cucurella a 6/10 rating.
The outlet wrote: “Struggled at times, but the circumstances matter. He was frequently left to deal with multiple players, including Kang-in Lee and Simeone, with little help from his teammates. Led the match in tackles and had far too much defending to do on his own.”
Former Real Madrid right-back Miguel Torres also waded in, telling Movistar: “There is no structure at Real Madrid. Cucurella looks like another player; he even looks like a bad player, but the reason is the lack of structure.”
He added: “There are no playing mechanisms of any kind. And if Rodri were at Real Madrid, many shortcomings would show on him too.”
Real sit fourth in La Liga heading into the international break, trailing league leaders Barcelona by six points.
Los Blancos return to action at home against Villarreal on October 10.
Topics: Real Madrid, Marc Cucurella, La Liga, Football News
Luke Davies