Marc Cucurella has not had it easy at Chelsea. Perhaps that was inevitable given the £62million paid to prise the Spaniard away from Brighton and Hove Albion last summer. Few players – and especially full-backs – can live up to such a price tag. The expectations are set too high.
To his credit, Cucurella started well at Stamford Bridge. There was a confidence that underpinned his performances, perhaps borne out of being named Brighton's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the season the previous May. Yet his form, much like many of his teammates, dipped in late October. The 24-year-old then became an easy scapegoat.
Cucurella's biggest crime was that of association with head coach Graham Potter. The two had worked together at Brighton and the perception was that offered the full-back a level of protection not afforded to many of his teammates. It was unfair and inaccurate.
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The nadir of Cucurella's campaign came against West Ham United last month. He started and performed poorly; it's why he was replaced in the 67th minute by Ben Chilwell. And as the Spain international left the pitch at the London Stadium, he was jeered and booed by the travelling Chelsea support.
Potter, having previously spoken about Cucurella going through off-field difficulties, offered public support: "Marc hasn't become a bad player at all but players sometimes can go through bad times and we need to stick together and try to help him," he said. "At the same time, supporters are entitled to their opinion and that's nothing for me to be critical of. That's just what we have to work with."
Cucurella didn't start the next game: the 1-0 defeat in Germany to Borussia Dortmund. He was then absent from the matchday squad entirely against Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds United. There was no injury, nor any illness. Potter was simply doing what he thought was best for his player.
That empathetic man-management has been a staple of Potter's career – and especially during his seven months at the helm at Chelsea. He has held regular one-to-one conversations with players and it is worth noting that Cucurella's consecutive absences from the matchday squads coincided with the birth of his third child, Bella.
However, for the visit of Borussia Dortmund last night, Potter had a crucial decision to make. Thiago Silva was ruled out due to injury. Benoit Badiashile could not feature as he wasn't registered. A centre-back needed to be brought into the starting XI and he opted for Cucurella over Trevoh Chalobah. It was a decision that paid off.
Cucurella was excellent against Dortmund: he defended aggressively, used the ball smartly, and was often the first player on hand to support his teammates when arguments broke out across the pitch. It was a display worthy of the £62million outlay committed by Todd Boehly and one Potter was understandably pleased with.
"He got man of the match, didn't he?" Potter asked with a knowing smile in his post-match press conference. "If the result hadn't gone our way, I'm not sure of the consequences [with the supporters]. So I'm delighted for him.
"Obviously when you're having a bad time as we've had, you accept the criticism, you have to deal with it. Marc has dealt with it well. We've tried to shield him a little bit and, at the same time, pick the moment [to bring him back into the side].
"I thought tonight, regardless of the situation, the crowd was going to get behind us because it's the Champions League. Tonight, with Benoit not available, I thought he could bring that left foot balance into the back-three and thankfully he delivered a top performance."
The challenge for Cucurella – and many of his teammates, in truth – is to sustain his level of performance. One strong display will not be enough to win over his doubters, more work will need to be done in the weeks ahead. But the first steps have been taken and they, as his new daughter will find out in the coming months, are often the hardest.
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