At the weekend, Chelsea secured a 3-2 win over West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.
Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville goals helped West Ham take a 2-0 lead in the first half. Liam Rosenior’s side turned things around in the second half to clinch three points against the Hammers.
João Pedro opened the scoring before Marc Cucurella equalised in the 70th minute. Nuno Espírito Santo was pushing for a West Ham victory late in the game. He brought on new West Ham signing Adama Traoré in the 81st minute.
The 30-year-old couldn’t impact the result, while Enzo Fernández scored the late winner.
Jean-Clair Todibo received a red card for his involvement in an entertaining scuffle.
Cucurella has now somewhat admitted starting it, and Catalan newspaper Sport have relayed his comments. The incident took place after Fernández netted the winner. The 27-year-old left-back was attempting to stop Traoré from sending in a cross from the right wing.
As the ball went out of play, the Spain international defender tried to stick his head into Traore’s chest. He failed as the new West Ham signing immediately threw him to the ground.
The Chelsea player has spoken to Gerard Romero on TV3’s ‘Fan Zone’.
Chelsea player admits he started it
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella
Wroclaw, Poland – 05 28 2025: Marc Cucurella seen during UEFA Conference League 2025 final game between Real Betis Balompie and Chelsea FC
“There’s a moment when I get up and I notice I’m very close to him, and I said, well, I’m going to stick my head in here to see if I can create a bit of controversy. He grabbed me, threw me where he could, and a big scuffle broke out,” he said.
Both Cucurella and Traoré graduated from Barcelona’s famous academy. The former was disappointed to not have been given chance to prove himself at the Camp Nou.
Romero brought up this connection and insinuated their shared past should help ease tensions.
Cucurella explained: “No, these things happen. I don’t have a problem with it, although if I ran into him on the street, I’d hesitate about whether to say hello after this.”
The West Ham attacker also joined the discussion, via a video call, and immediately calmed things down.
“He’s a really good guy. Everything stays on the field; it was just the heat of the moment. I really didn’t mean to do it; it wasn’t my intention,” Traoré said.
The Chelsea played then joked he was happy to have a screen between him and Traoré.
“Now I’m calm because there’s a screen between us. No, but it’s fine. It’s all in the past.’