That saw the Spaniard hastening to the touchline to swap out the cursed boots and equip his feet with a more fitting pair as Jamie Carragher pilloried him for ’embarrassing’ and ‘schoolboy’ errors on Sky Sports’ commentary.
His blushes were spared after Jadon Sancho, Cole Palmer with two penalties, and Enzo Fernandez flipped the game on its head, but the damage was done.
And so he jettisoned the guilty kickers after the match, sharing a photo of them in the bin on Instagram and issuing a two-word message to fans.
‘Sorry Blues,’ the left-back wrote on his Instagram Stories page, in a post that was quickly deleted.
His antics certainly made Palmer, the star of the day with his stunning panenka penalty, chuckle.
In a post-match interview, Palmer asked Cucurella where his boots were, and laughed as the defender told him of their fate.
Cucurella has been having a much improved season compared to last – besides that brilliant Euro 2024 campaign with Spain – and quickly made amends for his misfortune.
Equipped with his new boots, he provided the assist for Jadon Sancho to get back in the game, although the winger did most of the work with a mazy dribble and bullet finish into the bottom corner from outside the area.
He had first lost his balance just five minutes into the showdown and seconds later, Solanke raced in at the front post to touch a cross beyond Robert Sanchez.
Six minutes later, Cucurella was found guilty of the same mistake after toppling over and Kulusevski punished Chelsea by squeezing his effort home.
Desperately, the 26-year-old then raced over to the Chelsea technical area and pulled on the change of boots, shrugging his shoulders in frustration.
Carragher was left bemused, saying: ‘Cucurella’s coming to the bench, don’t blame anyone else – it’s your own fault, son!
‘Absolute schoolboy stuff. Embarrassing. He slips again. Look at him shrugging his shoulders. Did he not do a warm-up?’
Commentator Peter Drury couldn’t help but crack a festive joke, telling viewers: ‘Well, it’s pantomime season, and like Cinderella, Cucurella needs a slipper that fits!’
Spain international Cucurella has been almost ever-present for the Blues this season, missing only one Premier League game through suspension.
He joined the club in deal worth more than £60million from Brighton in August 2022 and has made 74 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal.
By Dailymail
