Chelsea managed to beat Brentford 2-1 in their west London derby at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Marc Cucurella opened the scoring for Chelsea in the first half before Nicolas Jackson made it two in the 80th minute of the game.
Jackson now has 23 non-penalty goals in the Premier League since the start of last season, which is actually more than what Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has managed.
Jackson’s finish and Cucurella’s header were quality, but the latter was not the only thing to have impressed former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf.
Marc Cucurella of Chelsea scores his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Brentford FC at Stamford Bridge on De...
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Marc Cucurella now a leader at Chelsea
It has been some turnaround by Cucurella at Chelsea. The defender was once booed by Chelsea supporters.
However, Leboeuf now feels that he is one of the leaders at the club. Speaking about Cucurella on ESPN after Chelsea’s win against Brentford, Leboeuf said: “At the back, yeah they’re not perfect. But they have a guy, Cucurella, that we don’t recognise. The European champion, he’s another person.
“He’s a leader, he goes for it now, he goes to put headers and score and defend and encouraging everybody.”
Cucurella was sent off at full-time, meaning that he will now miss Chelsea’s next Premier League game versus Everton. It could be an opportunity for Renato Veiga, who can play at left-back.
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Thomas Frank slams Marc Cucurella
While being a fan of Cucurella, Brentford manager Thomas Frank was not too impressed with some of Cucurella’s antics during his side’s loss to Chelsea.
In his post-match press conference, which has been relayed by LondonWorld, Frank said: “Personal opinion, I think Cucurella is a top player. I think he is doing very, very well.
“I don’t like when players go to the ground holding their face. I don’t want my players to do it and I’ll happily say it to Cucurella, as I respect him massively, but it’s his choice.”
Chelsea fans will not be too fussed about Cucurella wasting time and trying to get other players in trouble.
What they will be annoyed about, though, is that second yellow card he picked up after the full-time whistle had gone.
Enzo Maresca is now going to be without one of his key players for a difficult fixture. On Sunday, Chelsea have to take on a resilient Everton side, who have already managed to hold Arsenal to a 0-0 draw.
If Veiga does get the nod to start, the Blues need him to rise to the occasion because if they manage to beat the Toffees, they will go top of the table before Liverpool face Tottenham Hotspur.
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