Marc Cucurella has acknowledged Real Madrid have not started the season as they would have liked under new coach José Mourinho, but he says the team must be judged at the end of the campaign, not now. Madrid have suffered two defeats in their opening seven La Liga games, against Real Betis and Atlético Madrid, leaving them six points behind early leaders Barcelona.
Cucurella, speaking in a news conference on Friday while on international duty with world champions Spain, said Madrid's new project needs time to take shape. "It's all a process," Cucurella said. "At Madrid, we have just started with a new manager and it's too soon to speak. Some players only had a week-long preseason before starting."
Cucurella has picked up where he left off for Spain at the World Cup in the summer, impressing in UEFA Nations League victories over England and Croatia. It has led to suggestions the left back -- a €55 million ($62m) summer signing for Madrid from Chelsea -- is better suited to playing for his country than his club. "It's not even been 10 games yet," Cucurella responded. "There are things to improve [with Madrid], of course."
Cucurella is in the rare position of playing alongside two Ballon d'Or favourites -- Kylian Mbappé with Madrid and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal with Spain -- but would not pick between the two. Cucurella and Spain are back in action on Saturday when they host Czechia in Oviedo.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing