Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has sent a message out to fans after his Player of the Match display against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League this week. The Spaniard impressed on the left of a back three, helping the Blues overturn the first leg result to win the tie 2-0 and earn passage into the quarter-finals.
Cucurella's performance showed glimpses of exactly why the side paid the fee they did to land him from Brighton after a difficult start to life in west London. It all culminated to some away fans booing him off when he was substituted in a 1-1 draw against West Ham last month.
"They are humans with private lives and things going on. Marc is not the only one," manager Graham Potter said after the scenes at the London Stadium. "At the same time, you understand supporters pay their money and the most important thing is what happens on that pitch over 90 minutes. But nevertheless, players have to deal with stuff.
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"Marc is fine, he's going about his work. He knows he is probably not in the best moment of form but he isn't the only player who has to come through a moment. He is a player the club invested money in during the summer and it is our job to help him, support him, and bring him to the place where he is showing everyone his qualities."
A spell away from the side has since seen Cucurella step back into the first-team with a brave decision to start him in a crunch match against Dortmund. The Blues needed victory to ensure passage to the next round and alleviate some pressure from the management staff and players alike.
The 24-year-old stepped up to the plate and had a message for everyone after the game, telling the official Chelsea website: "This win is for everyone. In the bad moments we stayed together. Inside the dressing room the relationship between us is very good. You could see we played together, we ran for everyone, we had a team.
"This is very important because when the team wins it’s easy to stay together, but it’s in the difficult moments when you need to stay together. That is a real team.
"It’s easy when things aren’t good to criticise the players, but we are humans. Maybe we have some problems in our personal lives. This is part of life, and sometimes people need to understand this. But we need to stay calm, keep working hard, and when you have the opportunity, put everything on the pitch for the team."
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