Furious Cucurella changes cleats after slipping twice to concede early goals, then helps Chelsea win

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella changed his cleats just 12 minutes into the game after his slips contributed to both of Tottenham's early goals in the teams' London derby in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Spain international ceded possession by slipping on the turf at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the fifth and 11th minutes — and from the ensuing attacks, Spurs scored through Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski.

Immediately after Kulusevski's shot hit the net to make it 2-0, Cucurella sprinted to the sideline while shrugging his shoulders and pointed to his cleats. He took them off and threw them away in disgust before putting on new ones.

It seemed to work.

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 cleats he wore nestled in a bin.

“It almost slipped away,” Cucurella wrote on Instagram Stories, “but proud of the amazing team effort to turn things around.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Chelsea's Cole Palmer celebrates with his teammate Marc Cucurella after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Chelsea, at the Hotspur stadium in London, Sunday, Dec.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Chelsea's Marc Cucurella changes his shoes during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Chelsea, at the Hotspur stadium in London, Sunday, Dec.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Chelsea's Jadon Sancho celebrates with his teammate Marc Cucurella after scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Chelsea, at the Hotspur stadium in London, Sunday, Dec.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Tottenham's Brennan Johnson challenges for the ball with Chelsea's Marc Cucurella during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Chelsea, at the Hotspur stadium in London, Sunday, Dec.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Tottenham's Brennan Johnson challenges for the ball with Chelsea's Marc Cucurella during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Chelsea, at the Hotspur stadium in London, Sunday, Dec.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Brunson missed the final three quarters of New York's loss to Sacramento on Wednesday night because of a right ankle injury.

The All-Star point guard was hurt in the first quarter when he was dribbling and his ankle appeared to give out and he fell to the court. Brunson went to the locker room and the Knicks said he was questionable to return before later ruling him out for the second half.

Brunson had four points in five minutes. His status for the Knicks' game Thursday at Golden State is uncertain.

Brunson missed two games with a sprained right ankle in November and a month with the same injury late in the 2024-25 season.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, center, takes a shot in the paint during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)