Marc Cucurella has admitted he is now "very happy" at Chelsea after an impressive start to life under Enzo Maresca.
The defender joined the Blues in August 2022 from Brighton & Hove Albion for £60million but struggled to win over the Chelsea faithful in his opening few months. The left-back struggled for form under Graham Potter, interim head coach Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino, although he did start to play well under the Argentine at the back end of last season.
After helping Spain win Euro 2024, Cucurella has gone from strength to strength in a Chelsea shirt and has made the left-back spot his own at Stamford Bridge. The 26-year-old has made 18 appearances in all competitions this campaign and netted the opener against Brentford last weekend.
"I’m very happy," the Spaniard told the official Chelsea website. "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."
Cucurella, who is suspended for Chelsea's next Premier League match against Everton on Sunday, played a key role in the Blues' 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night. The defender scored yet again, adding to a Marc Guiu hat-trick and sole Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall strike.
"We are very happy because we know these games are never easy," Cucurella said. "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."
The 5-1 victory means that the Blues maintain their 100% record in the league phase of the Conference League heading into the knockout stages. Reflecting on the six matches, the 26-year-old is hopeful of more to come in the competition.
He said: "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."
Join the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp community
Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's second goal from the penalty spot with team mate Jadon Sancho during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Stamford Bridge on September 28, 2024
Sign up to our Chelsea WhatsApp service and get all the latest breaking news and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Chelsea writers direct to your phone.
By signing up to this free service you will be the first to know the news from Stamford Bridge as it happens.
To join our Chelsea community, all you have to do is click this link to join and you're in!