Stats explain how one Chelsea star can look world class to some; terrible to others | OneFootball

Marc Cucurella had a great game on Tuesday night for Chelsea as he was asked to invert from left back into midfield in a way that really gets the best out of him.

We can’t remember a Chelsea player who has had a more curious spell at the club than he has – he was derided at first and then grew into a key player. But opinions are still strangely divided on whether he’s actually really good or really bad.

Looking at his Premier League season stats, there’s a real mix. He’s very high on blocks and tackles, and does very well on pass completion (particularly on nights like Tuesday, where he’s coming into midfield and keeping it simple).

But he’s very poor moving the ball forwards – his progressive passes, progressive carries, take-ons and shot creating actions are all in the ref on FBRef’s comparisons to other full backs.

Stats may explain Cucurella confusion

This is what is perhaps so confusing and hard to profile about Cucurella. We’re used full backs who are good at attacking and bad at defending, or bad at attacking and good at defending. Cucurella’s profile doesn’t really fit either. He’s good at some elements of attacking and bad at others. He can be really solid in defence or a total disaster, sometimes in a 5 minute period.

Whatever your thoughts about the Spaniard’s overall game, there’s no doubting he has some excellent abilities in some areas, and the focus has to be on making sure he is put in the right position to show them off.

Seeing him look so good in a well drilled Spain team at the Euros last summer showed he can look like one of the best in the world in his position if given the right context.