Cliff Notes – Chelsea ‘lucky’ to have record-breaking Estêvão, Maresca says
- Enzo Maresca praised Estêvão’s potential, likening him to Cole Palmer, and expressed confidence in his ability to thrive in Chelsea’s first team.
- Estêvão made history as Chelsea’s youngest-ever scorer in the Champions League during a dominant 5-1 victory over Ajax.
- Maresca highlighted the importance of Estêvão’s humility and eagerness to learn, emphasising the club’s strategy of developing young talent.
Chelsea ‘lucky’ to have record-breaking Estêvão, Maresca says
Enzo Maresca said he feels “lucky” to manage Estêvão and thinks the Brazilian teenager could follow in the footsteps of Cole Palmer to excel in the Chelsea first team.
The Blues hammered 10-man Ajax at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night with 18-year-old Estêvão becoming the club’s youngest-ever scorer in the Champions League.
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On what was only his fifth Chelsea start after a summer move from Palmeiras worth an initial £29 million, Estêvão was impressive throughout and almost capped an all-round action display late on with a fabulous overhead kick which drifted just wide.
Maresca coached Palmer, missing through injury here, during their time together in Manchester City’s academy, before the England international joined Chelsea and established himself as one of the Premier League’s most dangerous players.
And the Blues boss said: “The odd thing about Estêvão is with young players you’re worried they have one good game and think they’re top. Estêvão is polite, he’s humble, he wants to learn. His family make a big job there. We’re happy not only way with way he performs but he’s a nice boy, a good boy.
“I think in the Premier League he needs a little more time. It’s very similar to Cole Palmer. I had him same age with City’s Under-23s. Cole played wide and now he’s inside. Now Estêvão plays wide, but in the future I think he’s more of an inside player.
“I feel very lucky to be his manager because it’s exciting, you can enjoy. We said many times, I think the fans at the end, they paid the tickets to see players like Cole [Palmer], like Estêvão, this kind of player. So it’s nice that we can have players like Estêvão, like Cole, like them.”
Moments after Ajax captain Kenneth Taylor was sent off on VAR review for a lunge at Facundo Buonanotte in the 17th-minute, Marc Guiu opened the scoring before Moisés Caicedo doubled their advantage.
Ajax halved the deficit through Wout Weghorst’s 33rd-minute penalty, but the former Manchester United striker fouled Enzo Fernández in the box as the game approached half-time and the Argentine converted from 12 yards.
Estêvão then won and scored his own spot kick before substitute Tyrique George added a fifth just after the restart. Chelsea became the first team in Champions League history to have three teenagers on the scoresheet and there was still time for 17-year-old Reggie Watts to become the club’s youngest-ever player in the competition.
“It’s the strategy of the club,” said Maresca, who made 10 changes to the team that beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 last weekend. “We have so many young players. I think already last season we were the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, so this season we continue in the same way.
“I work with them every day, I know what they can do. I know also that we’re going to have moments where we struggle a little bit more, for sure. But I think the good thing about them is that they want to learn, they want to improve and I think it’s good.”