Marc Cucurella struggled upon his return to the Amex Stadium, and Chelsea supporters on social media aren't best pleased with the defender's display. The 24-year-old, who joined the Blues from Brighton in the summer, featured on the left of Graham Potter's back-three with Raheem Sterling alongside him at left wing-back.
Solly March terrorised his former teammate, Cucurella, throughout the entirety of the first half, causing him a number of problems. The Spaniard's unconvincing performance contributed towards Chelsea heading into the half-time break 3-0 down.
While he wasn't entirely to blame for the west Londoners' lacklustre showing at the Amex Stadium, Chelsea fans threw the £62million-rated defender under the limelight, having expected much better. Upset with what they saw, Blues supporters vented their frustrations on social media, with one unhappy follower claiming that Cucurella has been 'burned to a crisp'.
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@ryanadsett tweeted: "Marc Cucurella with single handedly the most comical half I've seen an opposition player at the Amex. Solly March has burned him to a crisp."
@r1media agreed, claiming that the Spaniard has been 'cooked'. They tweeted: "In my life, I've not seen Solly March complete one successful dribble but he has COOKED Marc Cucurella."
@CescyTime tweeted: "We actually thought Cucurella was an upgrade on Alonso lol."
@FwambaHero tweeted: "Cucurella is a placeholder for Chilwell. To ensure Chilwell is not at risk before the World Cup. It's the only logical explanation."
But @chelsea4_real defended the Spaniard. They claimed that Sterling playing at left wing-back - a position he has never played before joining Chelsea - has not helped his case. They tweeted: "People are quick to blame Cucurella when you can clearly see STERLING is not helping matters. Sterling doesn't track back. Cucurella is doing a double shift. An LCB and an LB work at the same time. STERLING is offering nothing going forward and nothing backward. He is totally USELESS."
Cucurella was booed by Brighton fans every time he was in possession before being brought off in the second-half. The defender won both of the Seagull's player of the year awards last season for his impressive displays.
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