Former Watford striker Troy Deeney has given praise to a few Chelsea players following their win against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, which has seen Troy Deeney name three of their stars in his Team of the Week.
Nicolas Jackson was the man to open the scoring for the Blues after meeting Marc Cucurella‘s cross in the seventh minute.
Jackson really outshone Ollie Watkins, who was one of the best strikers in the Premier League last season, though he did not do enough to make Deeney’s team.
Marc Cucurella of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa FC at Stamford Bridge on December 01, 2024 i...
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Troy Deeney in awe of Marc Cucurella
One player who has been selected by Deeney following Chelsea’s victory over Villa is Cucurella.
Deeney, who also picked Enzo Fernandez and Robert Sanchez, has admitted that he has been surprised by how good Cucurella has been this season.
Explaining why he included the left-back in his BBC Sport Team of the Week, Deeney said: “He has surprised me. I didn’t think he was going to be that good.
“I also thought: Why did Chelsea buy him when they had Ben Chilwell? But clearly they know more than me and they showed what they can do. He’s doing really well.”
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If Reece James could remain fit, then the Englishman and Cucurella probably would have been Chelsea’s full-back combo this season. James’ latest injury has made Chelsea players sad, Cucurella has admitted.
Marc Cucurella’s numbers vs Aston Villa
Cucurella put in another combative performance over the weekend, limiting Villa’s threat on Chelsea’s left flank.
For example, the 26-year-old made four tackles and won four of his ground duels. It did not go down as an assist because of a deflection, but again, it was Cucurella’s ball into the box that allowed Jackson to score.
Marc Cucurella’s stats against Aston Villa Total
Minutes played 90
Clearances 2
Tackles 4
Dribbled past 0
Ground duels won 1
Aerial duels won 1
Chelsea paid £62m to sign Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022. For a while, it looked like a very questionable decision.
However, fast forward to now, and Cucurella has definitely been one of Chelsea’s more successful big-money signings. His latest outing shows just that.
The Spain international will be hoping for another clean sheet on Wednesday, with Enzo Maresca‘s side taking on bottom-of-the-table Southampton.
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