Enzo Maresca points to Marc Cucurella’s Barcelona connections after Chelsea win | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca pointed to Marc Cucurella’s Barcelona connections after the defender headed the only goal against Manchester United to keep his side’s Champions League hopes in their own hands.

The 26-year-old got on the end of Reece James’ cross in the 71st minute to power home his seventh goal of the season and rescue the Blues just as two vital points looked to be slipping away.

Until that point Maresca’s side were heading into the final day of the Premier League season needing results elsewhere to go their way, after Aston Villa had briefly climbed above them by beating Tottenham in the earlier kick-off.

“Very nice, the assist from the right full-back, the goal from the left full-back,” said Maresca. “It’s the way I like to play.

“Marc has already scored similar goals against Brentford and Wolves. He was in the right position at the right moment.

“It’s not about how big you are or how small or tall. He is an intelligent player and he is helping us with goals.”

Cucurella has been Chelsea’s most improved player this season and looks transformed from the uncertain, error-prone defender that arrived from Brighton for £56million in 2022.

If his goal to defeat United contributes to Champions League qualification he will have gone a long way towards repaying that fee, and the faith shown in him by successive Chelsea managers.

A product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, he made only one senior appearance for the Catalan club in a Copa del Rey fixture before being sold to Getafe in 2020, moving to the Amex Stadium a year later.

“He has a background with Barcelona so he grew up in a club where the philosophy that I like is similar,” said Maresca.

“So the reason he is doing so good with us is because we know what he can do. The way we like to play is exactly the way that is good for him.

“It’s not important how big you are, it’s important to understand where you have to be, the position, the moment.”

Victory away to Nottingham Forest next Sunday will confirm Chelsea’s return to the Champions League for the first time since 2023.

And 16th-place United could join them despite having lost six of their last eight and in the league and being winless since March 16.

Defeat here was their 18th in the league this season with the club already condemned to their lowest Premier League finish.

Boss Ruben Amorim’s mind was predictably on next week’s Europa League final against Spurs in Bilbao that will determine their European fate next season.

“Nothing is going to change this season,” he said. “The best way is to prepare the final, try to win a trophy this season and prepare the next one.

“We know that we are in a season that we are struggling a lot, but we cannot do anything that is in the past. We need to look at the present and the present is to prepare the final.”