Real Madrid: Spain display highlights Marc Cucurella problem

Marc Cucurella's lively display in Spain's 4-1 win over Croatia has highlighted a striking contrast with his difficult start at Real Madrid, just days after the left-back explained why Jose Mourinho's attacking setup has restricted his influence.

Cucurella has yet to reproduce at the Santiago Bernabeu the attacking impact that became an increasingly important part of his game at Chelsea.

With Spain, however, the picture has looked rather different.

The 28-year-old again appeared comfortable pushing into advanced areas during Tuesday's Nations League victory over Croatia, winning three of his four duels and completing 84% of his passes.

His involvement was noticeable almost immediately, prompting former Spain goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares to make a pointed comparison between Cucurella's performances for club and country.

"Cucurella had more involvement in eight minutes than in eight games for Real Madrid," Cañizares said on COPE.

The remark was not intended as a literal statistical comparison, but it captured a contrast that has become increasingly difficult to ignore.

Cucurella finds attacking freedom with Spain

Cucurella finished the Croatia game having delivered two key passes and recorded 18 touches in the final third, illustrating how frequently he was able to operate beyond Spain's midfield.

Those are precisely the areas he has struggled to reach consistently since completing his £52m move from Chelsea to Real Madrid in the summer.

The Spain international is still without a La Liga assist, and his attacking involvement has been noticeably reduced compared with his final seasons at Stamford Bridge.

That difference does not necessarily point to a decline in the player himself.

Cucurella explained earlier this month that Madrid's attacking speed can make it difficult for the full-backs to join moves at all.

"When I want to attack, they are so quick that they have already had the shot," he told El Larguero, referring to a forward line containing Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

He also acknowledged that building an understanding with Vinicius would take time, having had relatively few training sessions alongside the Brazil international following a disrupted summer.

Spain offer a very different environment.

Luis de la Fuente's side are comfortable sustaining possession around the opposition penalty area, allowing Cucurella to establish a higher starting position and become part of longer attacking sequences rather than trying to catch up with rapid transitions.

Against Croatia, that difference was visible from the opening stages.

Madrid are asking Cucurella to play a different game

Cucurella's Spain performance should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that Mourinho is using him incorrectly.

Madrid's structure asks different questions of their left-back.

The presence of Mbappe and Vinicius gives Los Blancos devastating speed on transitions, but it can also mean attacking moves develop before Cucurella has time to overlap from deeper positions.

There is a defensive consideration too.

Madrid have looked vulnerable when possession is lost this season, meaning Cucurella must judge carefully when to advance rather than simply occupy the aggressive positions he regularly reached for Chelsea.

That tension was apparent during the derby defeat to Atletico Madrid, when Cucurella was repeatedly caught between pressing the player in possession and tracking runners moving into the space behind him.

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

Spain's more controlled possession gives Cucurella fewer of those decisions to make and provides a clearer platform for his attacking qualities.

His performance against Croatia therefore does not settle the debate over his slow start in Madrid.

It does, though, offer Mourinho a reminder of the player Real Madrid made one of their major defensive investments of the summer: a full-back capable of influencing attacks when the structure around him gives him enough time and security to get there.