Marc Cucurella blamed for Chilwell getting sent off

Marc Cucurella, the Spanish defender for Chelsea, has come under intense criticism from the club’s fans following Ben Chilwell’s red card during their Champions League clash against Real Madrid. Cucurella was brought on as a substitute by Frank Lampard after Kalidou Koulibaly suffered an injury.

However, his involvement in the match resulted in Chilwell receiving a straight red card.

Cucurella failed to track Rodrygo’s run as the Real Madrid forward ran through on goal, and Chilwell dragged him down to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity. Fans on social media bemoaned Cucurella’s defending and blamed him for the incident that led to Chilwell’s red card.

One Twitter user wrote: “Cucurella loses marker, by getting drawn out, doesn’t have the speed to get back, Chilwell panics and gets a red. Stop looking at the final action.” Another tweeted: “Cucurella should have been sent off instead for that.” A third added: “People are going to blame Chilwell, watch Cucurella get sucked in.”

Cucurella, who was signed by Chelsea last summer from Brighton for an initial £55 million, has failed to impress the fans so far, even under his former manager Graham Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel. The 24-year-old has largely struggled to make an impact for the team.

Real Madrid took advantage of the situation and doubled their lead just 15 minutes after Chilwell’s red card, as Marco Asensio scored a brilliant goal from outside the box. Karim Benzema had already given Real Madrid the lead earlier in the game, and the competition holders will take a two-goal advantage into next week’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea fans will be hoping that Cucurella can improve his defensive performance in the future to avoid any further red cards or costly mistakes. The team will need to bounce back from their defeat against Real Madrid if they are to progress to the next round of the Champions League.