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Jamie Carragher says Chelsea's Marc Cucurella 'didn't want to defend' against Man City

  /  autty

Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella was told he 'can't defend' by pundit Jamie Carragher after the Blues lost 1-0 to Man City.

Graham Potter's side came up short in their Premier League encounter with City, with Riyad Mahrez's second-half effort proving to be enough to earn the visitors all three pointd.

Spanish full-back Cucurella endured a difficult night down Chelsea's left-hand side and was partly to blame for the winning goal - leading to criticisms from Carragher.

Speaking after the match on Sky Sports, Carragher said: 'I also wasn't happy with Cucurella right throughout that second half until he came off.

'When we talk about the price tag... he can't defend. And when you say someone can't defend... I think if someone doesn't want to defend, it's probably worse.

'It looked to me like he didn't want to defend. When I see defenders diving in all the time, it makes me think they don't want to defend.'

Cucurella was involved in a mix-up in the Chelsea defence which allowed Mahrez to sneak in and tuck away the ball to break the deadlock and earn all three points.

Earlier in the brodcast, Carragher ripped into Chelsea duo Cucurella and Kepa Arrizabalaga after Man City took the lead at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

'I've been questioning Cucurella in this second-half. He doesn't want to defend. Certainly 1 vs 1. We've seen that three or four times. Whether he stopped his run, because sometimes you're wary of playing someone onside,' he said.

The visitors took the lead after Jack Grealish drilled a ball to the back-post for Mahrez to convert and Chelsea's Kepa opted against attempting to claim the ball.

Speaking shortly after the goal, Carragher said: 'Can the goalkeeper do more? I think he can. I'm pretty certain he could've done more. Man City have deserved that off the second half performance.'

The Blues suffered a double injury blow in the first-half of the match after Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic were withdrawn with respective problems.

Later in the match, Chelsea fans ripped into their own striker - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - for his disappointing cameo in the game.

Graham Potter's side have won just one match since returning from the World Cup break - a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth.