Marc Cucurella has taken to social media following Chelsea's 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers. The 26-year-old defender fired the Blues to victory at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night, cementing a place in the UEFA Conference League round of 16.
After Marc Guiu netted a first-half hat-trick and Kiernan Dewbury-Hall etched his name onto the scoresheet, Cucurella chipped in with a brilliant strike. The Spain international cut inside from the left wing before sweeping the ball into the bottom corner with his right foot.
Cucurella wheeled away in jubilation, knee sliding towards the home fans. Once the Spaniard got back to his feet and embraced his teammates, he performed a 'penguin waddle' celebration.
Before play could restart, Axel Disasi passed Cucurella the captain's armband before he was brought off for Harrison Murray-Campbell. The goal and the gesture – as well as the amusing dance – went down a treat with Chelsea supporters, who soon belted out a rendition of his song.
After the game, Cucurella marked the occasion with a celebratory post on Instagram, which eclipsed 100,000 likes overnight. Captioning the post, he wrote: "Penguin Style [penguin emoji]. Another great win by the team [salute and blue heart emoji]."
Speaking to the official club website, Cucurella expanded on his delight to help Chelsea progress into the next round of the competition. He said: "We are very happy because we know these games are never easy.
"We try in every game to have new ideas or different positions to attack the other team. We do a lot of work in training and then I try to do my best on the pitch. It’s about time and it’s a process."
Cucurella added: "Sometimes we had long travel, but we showed every week that we tried to do our best. We practised our good football because we wanted to win in front of our fans.
"We finished well and we need to continue in this way. We know this competition is tough and we wanted another win tonight. We’re happy to get through this stage."
Then, on transforming his fortunes in west London, he added: "I’m very happy. I think in my first season it wasn’t easy but I tried my best, worked hard and waited for my moment. Now it’s a good moment for me and the team.
"I think the manager and my team-mates have given me a lot confidence and I tried to help the team always. We’re really happy and we’re trying to continue in this way. It’s a long season but we are ready to do good things."
Renato Veiga, Joao Felix and Moises Caicedo also marked the victory with posts on Instagram. The latter, who's regularly donned the captain's armband this season, showed his leadership qualities with a modest message, simply posting a blue heart emoji and flexed arm emoji.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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