A lot of money was spent on Marc Cucurella as a backup for Ben Chilwell, so he will have been happy to have the chance to step into the team while the English has missed months of the season.
Sadly, the former Brighton man has been desperately disappointing, and today he was poor again, with Reece James’s threat down the right only serving to highlight the Spaniard’s deficiencies.
The good news for those who don’t have a taste for Cucurella is that this should be the end of his run as an undisputed starter. Ben Chilwell came on as a sub today, as he did last week, and we suspect that should give him the minutes he needs to start a game next week.
It won’t be both – he’s not ready for that – so Cucurella should get either the Champions League or the Premier League game – but Chilwell’s welcome return to starting is imminent.