Real Madrid: Spain display highlights Marc Cucurella problem

Marc Cucurella's lively show successful Spain's 4-1 triumph implicit Croatia has highlighted a striking opposition with his hard commencement astatine Real Madrid, conscionable days aft the left-back explained wherefore Jose Mourinho's attacking setup has restricted his influence.

Cucurella has yet to reproduce astatine the Santiago Bernabeu the attacking interaction that became an progressively important portion of his crippled astatine Chelsea.

With Spain, however, the representation has looked alternatively different.

The 28-year-old again appeared comfy pushing into precocious areas during Tuesday's Nations League triumph implicit Croatia, winning 3 of his 4 duels and completing 84% of his passes.

His engagement was noticeable astir immediately, prompting erstwhile Spain goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares to marque a pointed examination betwixt Cucurella's performances for nine and country.

"Cucurella had much engagement successful 8 minutes than successful 8 games for Real Madrid," Cañizares said connected COPE.

The remark was not intended arsenic a literal statistical comparison, but it captured a opposition that has go progressively hard to ignore.

Cucurella finds attacking state with Spain

Cucurella finished the Croatia crippled having delivered 2 cardinal passes and recorded 18 touches successful the last third, illustrating however often helium was capable to run beyond Spain's midfield.

Those are precisely the areas helium has struggled to scope consistently since completing his £52m determination from Chelsea to Real Madrid successful the summer.

The Spain planetary is inactive without a La Liga assist, and his attacking engagement has been noticeably reduced compared with his last seasons astatine Stamford Bridge.

That quality does not needfully constituent to a diminution successful the subordinate himself.

Cucurella explained earlier this period that Madrid's attacking velocity tin marque it hard for the full-backs to articulation moves astatine all.

"When I privation to attack, they are truthful speedy that they person already had the shot," helium told El Larguero, referring to a guardant enactment containing Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

He besides acknowledged that gathering an knowing with Vinicius would instrumentality time, having had comparatively fewer grooming sessions alongside the Brazil planetary pursuing a disrupted summer.

Spain connection a precise antithetic environment.

Luis de la Fuente's broadside are comfy sustaining possession astir the absorption punishment area, allowing Cucurella to found a higher starting presumption and go portion of longer attacking sequences alternatively than trying to drawback up with accelerated transitions.

Against Croatia, that quality was disposable from the opening stages.

Madrid are asking Cucurella to play a antithetic game

Cucurella's Spain show should not automatically beryllium interpreted arsenic grounds that Mourinho is utilizing him incorrectly.

Madrid's operation asks antithetic questions of their left-back.

The beingness of Mbappe and Vinicius gives Los Blancos devastating velocity connected transitions, but it tin besides mean attacking moves make earlier Cucurella has clip to overlap from deeper positions.

There is simply a antiaircraft information too.

Madrid person looked susceptible erstwhile possession is mislaid this season, meaning Cucurella indispensable justice cautiously erstwhile to beforehand alternatively than simply inhabit the assertive positions helium regularly reached for Chelsea.

That hostility was evident during the derby decision to Atletico Madrid, erstwhile Cucurella was repeatedly caught betwixt pressing the subordinate successful possession and tracking runners moving into the abstraction down him.

Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were consequently required to screen wider areas, occasionally opening gaps elsewhere successful midfield.

Spain's much controlled possession gives Cucurella less of those decisions to marque and provides a clearer level for his attacking qualities.

His show against Croatia truthful does not settee the statement implicit his dilatory commencement successful Madrid.

It does, though, connection Mourinho a reminder of the subordinate Real Madrid made 1 of their large antiaircraft investments of the summer: a full-back susceptible of influencing attacks erstwhile the operation astir him gives him capable clip and information to get there.