For all of football’s sophistication, technological advances and great leaps forward in multi-coloured boot technology it is gratifying to remember that sometimes matches can turn on a hapless defender falling on their bum.

Marc Cucurella endured a chastening first 11 minutes in Chelsea’s visit to Tottenham, falling over twice at the cost of two goals against his team then changing his boots furiously on the touchline.

Chelsea’s Spanish full-back, like much of his team, came in for a lot of criticism in the months after he joined the club but has been one of several success stories this season for Enzo Maresca’s renewed side. However, it was a return to his hapless early days on Sunday night, with Spurs’ attack tormenting him and punishing his mistakes with the sort of cruelty the Premier League usually reserves for promoted clubs.

First it was Brennan Johnson who took advantage of Cucurella’s misfortune, seizing the ball as the full-back slipped unexpectedly when he seemed in full control and under little threat. He crossed well for Dominic Solanke, who opened the scoring after five minutes. This, you might think, would be the cue to reassess your footwear choices, but Cucurella was the fall guy again six minutes later, slipping once more to surrender possession. This time Dejan Kulusevski was on hand to score an excellent second for Spurs.

Only then did a livid Cucurella sprint to the touchline (fortunately keeping his footing) and change into a more sturdy set of boots. Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury invoked pantomime season to deliver one of his best lines of the season. “Like Cinderella, Cucurella needs a slipper that fits.”

Jamie Carragher was less charitable, adding: “Cucurella’s coming to the bench, don’t blame anyone else — it’s your own fault, son. Absolute schoolboy stuff. Embarrassing.

“He slips again. Look at him shrugging his shoulders. Did he not do a warm-up?”

Just before the half-hour mark, Pape Sarr kicked Cucurella on the ankle with a late tackle for his trouble. The Spurs midfielder was booked, which is about the most positive spin you could put on Cucurella’s first half.

Cucurella’s team-mates bailed him out of trouble though, with Chelsea taking advantage of a porous Spurs side to prevail 4-3 after a second-half comeback.

Speaking after the game, Jadon Sancho revealed Cucurella had thrown the offending boots away: “They’re going in the bin after this game. After the mistakes, I thought he played fantastic. We believe in Cucu.”

The Spaniard confirmed as much in an Instagram post, which was then hastily deleted:

Perhaps Cucurella received a word from his sponsors before pushing the delete button.

Maresca also referenced Cucurella’s slip when asked whether his team were title contenders. The Chelsea head coach said: “Arsenal, Man City & Liverpool wouldn’t slide like Cucurella did!”