Chelsea hero had Barcelona clash marked in red because of past treatment – report

Marc Cucurella was one of the stars for Chelsea as they defeated FC Barcelona 3-0 last night at Stamford Bridge in the UEFA Champions League.

The Spanish international was solid in defence, nullifying the threat of Lamine Yamal and was influential going forward on the left flank as well, with his performance earning him the MVP award.

Cucurella was extra motivated

Now, according to journalist Roger Arbusa on Catalunya Radio, Cucurella had the Barcelona match marked in red on his calendar. He treated his duel with Lamine Yamal as a personal test.

The Chelsea left-back has always thought that Barça never gave him the opportunity in the first-team setup after years spent at the club. As such, he was extra-motivated to prove himself against his boyhood club.

Cucurella joined Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy in 2012 at age 14, after an earlier spell with Espanyol’s youth teams.

Having risen through the ranks, the left-back went on to make over 50 appearances for the reserve team and made his official first-team debut in October 2017, which was his only senior appearance for the Catalans.

From there, the cycle began: loaned to Eibar in 2017, bought by them a year later, then immediately bought back by Barcelona, only to be loaned out again to Getafe in 2019. A year later, they signed him permanently.

Given how things went down, Cucurella is understood to have long felt that Barça never trusted him, even when he returned from Eibar with strong performances behind him.

That is why the game against Barcelona last night mattered and meant that much more for him, and the 27-year-old delivered a fine performance against his boyhood club.