Potter hails Cucurella ‘top display’ as Chelsea qualify
Graham Potter praised Marc Cucurella after the decision to restore him to Chelsea’s defence was vindicated by a brilliant individual display against Borussia Dortmund.
The Blues reversed a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in Germany to seal a stunning Champions League fightback and hand Potter his finest night as manager at Stamford Bridge.
Cucurella had been left out of the manager’s last three matchday squads but was brought in to start in a back three with Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile unavailable.
Goals either side of halftime from Raheem Sterling and a re-taken penalty from Kai Havertz won it for the Blues, after they had bombarded the Bundesliga’s second-place side during a first half in which they dominated and could have been out of sight.
It was a performance that finally demonstrated the potential in the team following owner Todd Boehly’s whirlwind January transfer spend, with Joao Felix imperious in driving down the left side of Chelsea’s attack and Britishrecord signing Enzo Fernandez in near-total control in midfield.
ButitwasCucurella,whose inclusion after a difficult personal spell Potter admitted had been a risk, who rose best to the occasion with an ener
getic, focussed display of high pressing.
“I think Marc was man of the match,” said Potter, with UEFA in agreement as the Spaniard took the official award.
“If the result hadn’t had gone our way, I’m not sure of theconsequences.I’mdelighted for him.
“When you’re having a bad time like we’ve had, you accept the criticism and 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).
“We thought the crowd would get behind us tonight,
because it’s the Champions League.WithBenoitnotavailable,Ithoughthegaveussome left-footedbalanceintheback three.Thankfullyhedelivered a top performance.”
Chelsea peppered Dortmund’s goal in the first period with Felix and Havertz both going close, the latter striking the post with a wicked drive late in the half.
Sterling’s goal in the 43rd minute repaid the raucous support lent by the crowd at Stamford Bridge before Havertz’s twice-taken penaltycompletedtheturnaround, hitting the post first time but taking his second chance after
Dortmund’s players encroached.
It brought much-needed breathing room for Potter, particularlyfollowingonfrom the unconvincing 1-0 victory againstLeedsonSaturdaythat ended the team’s six-match winless run. This time, the performance matched the magnitude of the result.
“Itwasanimportantgame, it was a special atmosphere,” said Potter. “It was a passionate evening.
“Stamford Bridge was rocking, I thought it would be.
"Our performance helped that.Wepressedhigh,wetried to win some tackles.
"We tried to attack them and play some decent stuff, against a top team.
“It’s not just this evening. We’ve had a tough period. We had to respond against Leeds.
"We played a good game against Dortmund away (in thefirstleg)andwelost.Inthe moment that we’re in, no one wants to hear that we played well, had some chances and should have scored.
“We had a poor first half (losing) against Southampton anditcouldhavespiralledinto an unpleasant situation.
"Everybody had to stick togetherandsuffertogetherand find a way through.”