“It almost slipped away.”
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella discarded his boots in frustration after making two critical slips during the first half of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
The Spanish international’s early stumble in possession led to goals for Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski, putting Spurs 2-0 ahead.
Struggling with the wet conditions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Cucurella signalled to the Chelsea bench, rushed to the sideline, and swapped his boots.
After the game, the former Brighton full-back shared an image on his social media account, showing that he had tossed the boots into a bin.
The change made an immediate difference.
With better footing, Cucurella played a key role in Chelsea’s dramatic comeback. He set up Jadon Sancho’s goal six minutes later, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Chelsea rallied further to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory, with Cole Palmer scoring two penalties and Enzo Fernandez scoring the Blues’ other goal.
Son Heung-min scored a stoppage-time goal for Spurs, but Chelsea won the bragging rights after an intensely fought London derby.
After the match, Cucurella shared a photo on Instagram of his discarded boots sitting in what appeared to be a dressing-room bin.
“It almost slipped away,” he captioned the post, “but proud of the amazing team effort to turn things around.”
The win keeps Chelsea’s momentum alive, with Cucurella’s recovery from a difficult start epitomising the team’s resilience.
