The Blues came from behind on aggregate to top Dortmund and book a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Chelsea manager Graham Potter singled out praise for Marc Cucurella after delivering a ‘top performance’ against Borussia Dortmund.
The 24-year-old has struggled to live up to the €65 million fee Chelsea forked out to sign him from Brighton last summer amid interest from Premier League rivals Manchester City.
However, in Tuesday’s 2-0 second-leg win over Dortmund in the Champions League last-16, Cucurella delivered a Man of the Match performance to help Potter’s side qualify for the quarter-finals with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
“I think he got man of the match, didn’t he? If the result hadn’t gone our way, I’m not sure of the consequences,” Potter said of Cucurella.
“I’m delighted for him. Obviously when you’re having a bad time like we’ve had then you accept the criticism, you have to deal with it. Marc has dealt with it well.
“We’ve tried to shield him a little bit and at the same time pick the moment. I thought tonight, regardless of the situation, the crowd were going to get behind us because it’s the Champions League.
“Tonight, with Benoit [Badiashile] not available, I thought he [Cucurella] gave us the left foot and balance in the back three and thankfully he delivered a top performance.”
Next up for Chelsea is a visit to the King Power Stadium on Saturday. They will take on 15th-place Leicester City in the Premier League, hoping to make it three straight wins.
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