Wayne Rooney singles out ‘absolutely incredible’ Chelsea star for special praise after dominant Champions League win | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney praised Marc Cucurella after Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League victory against Barcelona on Tuesday night. 

Enzo Maresca’s side defeated the La Liga champions at Stamford Bridge following an own-goal from Jules Kounde and second-half strikes from Estevao Willian and Liam Delap. 

Rooney singled out Curcurella for special praise, saying he was ‘absolutely incredible’. 

“Cucurella’s given the best training lesson you could have for dealing with Lamine Yamal tonight,” he said on Amazon Prime. 

“He was absolutely incredible – probably the best performance I’ve seen from a left-back for a long, long time. To do that tonight, he’s a serious player.”

Cucurella was named man of the match after delivering a defensive masterclass against Barcelona.

He handled Yamal with ease, proving why he is regarded as one of the best defenders in Europe. 

The 27-year-old had 97 touches and completed 87 percent of his passes. 

He won all of his aerial duels, recorded five tackles, made two clearances, two interceptions and four recoveries. 

Chelsea endured a dreadful September, winning just one of their five matches across all competitions. 

However, they are currently second in the Premier League following three consecutive victories against Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley. 

Tuesday’s win over Barcelona has lifted them to fifth in the Champions League opening phase, with 10 points from five matches. 

Stats from Sofascore & Transfermarkt.