​AS: Mourinho Has Confirmed Cucurella Will Start; New Owner of Real Madrid's Left Flank Officially Takes Over

August 30 – According to AS, Marc Cucurella's Real Madrid career has entered its "full-throttle" phase. After a friendly debut against Schalke 04 and a steady transition with two substitute appearances in the opening league matches (26 minutes and 45 minutes respectively), the Spanish international has now completed his integration. Manager José Mourinho confirmed yesterday: Cucurella will start for the first time for Real Madrid in tonight's match against Málaga.

Mourinho Picks on Form, Not Sentiment

Mourinho has always prioritised on-pitch performance. In the previous match against Real Sociedad, starting left-back Álvaro Carreras put in a below-par display, and Mourinho substituted him at half-time. Carreras had performed reasonably well in the league opener, but looked uncomfortable against Real Sociedad: his passing accuracy was low, he lost possession frequently, and picked up a yellow card as early as the 10th minute. Most notably, he failed to close down the opposition player Sučić quickly enough in the build-up to the conceded goal.

Mourinho explained: "I took off Carreras because he was on a yellow card and defending against Takefusa Kubo's dribbling was too risky. Cucurella will start tonight, and Carreras will be on the bench. If Cucurella runs out of steam, we have Carreras. That's the luxury of having a top-quality squad."

Quick Adaptation, Quickly Adopted by Fans

Cucurella was one of the last players to return to the squad due to his World Cup commitments. Just 18 days after joining Real Madrid, he has played a total of 100 minutes across three matches (including the friendly). Despite the short time, he has shown impressive adaptability.

The Bernabéu faithful have already fully embraced the curly-haired star. When the starting line-up was announced before the last match, Cucurella – still a substitute – received the loudest cheer of the evening. Later, during the club's tribute ceremony for him and Mikel Oyarzabal following their World Cup win, the Bernabéu again gave him a warm ovation. Tonight, fans will finally see the World Cup winner tearing down the left flank from the very first minute of the match.

Source: AS