Graham Potter Speaks On Mudryk And Cucurella ‘Petty Quarrel’ Ahead Of Dortmund Clash

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has played down talk of a rift between Mykhailo Mudryk and his fellow teammate Marc Cucurella after the Ukrainian appeared to criticize the Spaniard on Instagram.

Mudryk and Cucurella were on different wavelengths during the Blues’ 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Saturday, with the Ukrainian often running in behind Vladimir Coufal without receiving the ball.

A compilation post criticizing Cucurella was subsequently liked by Mudryk’s account on Instagram before being removed later in the day, with the Spaniard also bearing the brunt of frustrated Chelsea fans on social media.

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Responding to suggestions that there’s an issue between the pair, ahead of the Champions League round of 16 clash with Borussia Dortmund, Potter said: “There’s no problem in terms of anything sinister at all.

“If anything it’s just team-mates understanding each other, it’s quite a common problem, I would say – when to pass, at what point, at what time.

“Playing against a back five, West Ham make it difficult for you to access maybe the wideman’s feet and it’s just an understanding of when to play in space or how to make the runs.

“Mykhailo, that’s only his third game with us, so there’s no problem. It’s more just an understanding challenge, which is quite easy to understand when you recognize the context that we’re in.”

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Cucurella has struggled to get to grips with life as a Chelsea player since making the £60m move from Brighton last summer and was sarcastically cheered by fans as he was substituted at the London Stadium.

Mudryk – who signed for the club in January despite being linked heavily with Arsenal – came under fire for his reaction to Chelsea’s left-back when he failed to pick out the pass to the Ukrainian.

Mudryk looked lively in a cameo debut appearance against Liverpool but was subbed off at half-time against Fulham prior to his ineffective display at London Stadium.