They’ve had a few disappointing results, but this season is shaping up very nicely for Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca’s side are second in the Premier League, with a chance to cut Arsenal’s gap to three points on Sunday, and have just demolished Barcelona in the Champions League.
The Blues were superb on Tuesday night, and while being a man up certainly helped, they were without a doubt the better side.
One of the most impressive performers for Chelsea was Estevao, who outshone fellow wonderkid Lamine Yamal, and so fans should be excited that they have someone on loan showing shades of the Brazilian in their game.
How Estevao outshone Yamal
While it felt early to be comparing Chelsea’s new wonderkid to someone who just finished second in the Ballon d’Or, that was exactly what was happening before Tuesday night’s game.
However, that added pressure certainly didn’t seem to bother Estevao, as he was sensational throughout the encounter and put in a far better performance than Yamal.
For example, on top of scoring the all-important second goal for the hosts, the 18-year-old didn’t give the visitors’ backline a moment’s rest.
In his 83 minutes of action, he created one big chance, played three key passes, produced an expected assists figure of 0.35 and completed two dribbles, one of which led to the goal.
On the flipside, the Spaniard looked nothing like the superstar winger fans have become so accustomed to seeing.
He was practically anonymous for most of the match, and when he did try to do something, he was more often than not locked down by Marc Cucurella, who was named Man of the Match.
By the time the Barça star was taken off, he had failed to score, lost the ball 21 times, played just two key passes and come out looking second best in the battle of the teenage wonderkids.
In all, it looks like Chelsea have a truly special talent on their hands in Estevao, and in even more good news, they’ve got another stellar prospect out on loan with shades of the Brazilian in his game.
The Chelsea gem with shades of Estevao to him
The scary thing for opposition fans and teams is that Chelsea’s bet on young, up-and-coming talent is starting to pay off, and it could see them really kick on in the coming years.
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Estevao is obviously going to be a huge part of that, but another youngster who could be right there with him, and even has shades of the Brazilian to his game, is Kendry Páez.
The Blues signed the Ecuadorian gem over two years ago, but, due to rules on players under 18, he couldn’t join the squad until the summer.
However, instead of keeping him on the bench or in the youth side, the club opted to send him out on loan to Strasbourg for the season, where he has played 531 minutes of first-team football across 14 appearances so far.
Now, it’s important to say that, given Estevao’s extraordinary talent, it’s unlikely that the Guayaquil-born prospect will be as good as him.
However, he certainly shares some traits with him and could still develop into a world-class player.
For example, despite being so young, the “pure quality talent,” as dubbed by Jacek Kulig, racked up a tally of eight goals and five assists in 41 first-team appearances for Independiente del Valle last season.
Appearances
70
Starts
43
Minutes
4062′
Goals
13
Assists
6
Points per Game
1.84
Furthermore, in the words of respected analyst Ben Mattinson, the 18-year-old is “a left-footed magician who can play as a 10 or RW and has the intelligence to control and decide games,” which certainly sounds like the former Palmeiras gem.
Likewise, while he is capable of playing a killer pass or recycling possession to help the team, Mattinson also points out that he’s more than happy to “take on a couple players and get off shots.”
Finally, like Brazil’s next great superstar, the Strasbourg ace has already established himself on the international scene, amassing 23 senior caps for Ecuador, in which he’s scored two goals and provided three assists.
Ultimately, while he might not quite reach the level of Estevao, Paez has the potential to get incredibly close, and that would still make him a world-class player for Chelsea.
Liam Delap says Chelsea have a youngster who's "so raw" but "so exciting"
The striker made the comments after the Blues’ 3-0 rout against FC Barcelona in the Champions League.
ByDominic Lund