Marc Cucurella dumped his boots in the bin after making two costly slips in the first half of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Tottenham on Sunday.
Cucurella fell in possession early in the match and his stumbles allowed Dominic Solanke and then Dejan Kulusevski to score as Spurs raced into a 2-0 lead. The Spanish defender signalled to the Chelsea dugout that he needed to change his boots and rushed over to the sideline to make the switch, disgarding his old footwear in disgust.
It worked, with Cucurella not only getting a grip on the wet surface at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but playing his part in Chelsea’s stunning comeback win. Within six minutes, he provided the pass that led to Jadon Sancho scoring for Chelsea to make it 2-1.
Chelsea went on to win 4-3, and Cucurella posted a photo on social media after the match, showing the first set of boots he wore nestled in what appeared to be a dressing-room bin.
“It almost slipped away,” Cucurella wrote on Instagram, “but proud of the amazing team effort to turn things around.”