Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or a world-class left-back?

At this point, it seems Marc Cucurella wasn't given a proper chance from the beginning. Of course, his variable form and occasional poor performance contributed to the impression, but even the transfer fee Chelsea paid to Brighton immediately raised some questions and caused an avalanche of comments. He was proclaimed a failed investment, one of the worst left-backs in the Blues' history and the number of "65 million euros for him?!" statements couldn't even be counted.

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For the public, Ben Chilwell was a way better option, and this time, we won't discuss how big of a role his passport had. Even when Cucurella found his place in Chelsea's starting line-up in the second half of the season and helped the club improve the results and the Premier League campaign in sixth place, the impression is that the Spaniard was still underrated. Who knows if he would have even played if the Englishman hadn't been injured? And how ridiculous does Gary Neville's statement sound now...

Last night, he showed who he is and what he can do: most tackles completed, most duels won, most successful passes, you name it. Federico Chiesa ended up in Cucu's pocket, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo will have nightmares about him and Nico Williams. Along with Germany, La Furia Roja has been named the best team in the tournament so far, and Cucurella's contribution is more significant than anybody can imagine, although laymen may not see that at first.

After a dominating game like a curly-haired defender had last night, many players would become conceited and full of themselves, but not him. For Marc, the team is always in the first place.

"I am happy on an individual level, but in the end the most important thing was to win because this is a team game. Everyone has to play their role and I think that today we were all very good. We dominated from start to finish and we deserved victory. I am in a great moment. It was an important match for me and for other debutants who have the ambition to do well. These victories help to gain confidence little by little The team and I are making a great effort, we are fighting for every ball and we are giving everything. For now, we can be proud, but there is still a very long way to go, we have only played two games and our goal is to win everything from here to the end," Cucurella said as Marca reports.

The Spaniard's contract expires in three years, and now it's clear to everyone that he has much to offer to Chelsea. Perhaps previous managers didn't know how to use his qualities properly, perhaps the public pressure was overwhelming for him, perhaps Enzo Maresca will figure out how to utilize the Cucu's best attributes... Many questions remain open, but one thing should never again be doubtful: Marc Cucurella is an elite left-back, one of the finest in the world of football nowadays, and any club would be more than happy to have him.