Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez gloated that Marc Cucurella had Lamine Yamal “in his bag” and claimed that the Barcelona forward simply wasn’t up to the standard of a Premier League team.
Yamal endured a chastening evening at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as Barcelona were comfortably condemned to 3–0 Champions League defeat. Yamal was limited to snatched sights of goal during his 80 minutes on the pitch while he was emphatically outshone by fellow 18-year-old Estêvão during a shackled display.
Cucurella followed Yamal across every blade of grass in midweek, as close and uncomfortable as a hair shirt. Sánchez was forced into just two saves and took great pleasure in ramming home his Cucurella’s superiority against his fellow Spain international.
“He’s got him in the bag,” the goalkeeper laughed. “Everyone is great until they come to the Premier League,” he added.
That sense of hulking physicality from English sides compared to their European counterparts has been a factor of this Champions League campaign. Yamal had never previously come up against a Premier League club during his prodigious young career and didn’t have an entirely influential display against England in the final of Euro 2024. He certainly felt the effects of a tight man-marking brief from Cucurella.
Sánchez was then asked if Barcelona were among the leading contenders to win the Champions League—which may have been an odd time for such a question given the convincing nature of their defeat. The 28-year-old took it in good spirits. “Barcelona the favourites?” he smiled. “We’re the favourites.”
Marc Cucurella Reveals How He Shut Down Lamine Yamal
Cucurella has been trailing this matchup with Yamal since the draw was made back in August. This week the Spanish left back joked that Estêvão needed to wear shin pads in training as he would serve as Cucurella’s sparring partner in the buildup to his matchup with the Barcelona forward.
Taking a more serious tone, Cucurella explained how it took a team effort to muzzle this year’s Ballon d’Or runnerup. “I tried to make the game difficult for Yamal,” the defender told Amazon Prime, “if I invite him inside, [Moisés] Caicedo is there, if I leave the space on his right open, it's his worse foot so if he does something with his right, then we can say congratulations. You never know with those kind of players.”
Ushering Yamal onto his right foot is grounded in logic. Just 9% of the 244 shots he has taken across his entire career in Spain’s top flight have been with his weaker right foot. Yamal managed just one scuffed, left-footed effort at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lamine Yamal Receives Cutting Jibe From Chelsea Star.
