In the first leg of their Nations League quarterfinal matchup with the Netherlands, Marc Cucurella was a member of the Spanish team that needed an injury-time goal from Mikel Merino of Arsenal to salvage a point.
After Dutch full-back Jorrel Hato lost possession deep within his own half, Nico Williams gave Spain the lead within the first ten minutes.
Cody Gakpo of Liverpool levelled shortly before the break, and Tijjani Reijnders’ low shot gave the Netherlands the advantage 39 seconds into the second half.
Before a thrilling final quarter of an hour, it appeared that Spain’s undefeated streak in all competitions would come to an end at 16 games, since their most recent loss was a 1-0 friendly loss to Colombia in March of last year.
After Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen parried Williams’ low drive into his path, Hato’s night took a turn for the worse when he was sent off on minute 81. Spain then capitalised by winning a last-minute point through a finish from Merino in the third minute of injury time.
The victors will play either Croatia or France in the semi-finals after the second leg on Sunday in Valencia.
Cucurella’s Chelsea team-mate Pedro Neto was also in Nations League quarter-final action but the forward had a less enjoyable night back in Parken Stadion in Copenhagen.
Neto would have curled Portugal in front against Denmark early on had it not been for a fine save by Kasper Schmeichel.
Chelsea defender Renato Veiga – on loan at Juventus – conceded a penalty midway through the first half but Christian Eriksen’s spot-kick was saved.
It didn’t stop Denmark, who had Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen on the bench, from being victorious though as Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund came off the bench to score the winner with 12 minutes of normal time remaining.
In the second leg on Sunday, Portugal will try to overcome the 1-0 deficit in Lisbon.
