Ancelotti was pleased with the youngster's displayplaceholder image
Ancelotti was pleased with the youngster's display | Getty Images
Chelsea will be pleased to see one of their players in good form for their national side.
One of Chelsea’s stars has continued his scoring form for his national side. Brazil were not in qualifying action on Friday, but they did face South Korea in an international friendly as they look to step up preparations for next summer’s World Cup.
It was a comfortable win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who were strong favourites to win the friendly. Brazil’s attacking trio behind striker Matheus Cunha came up with all the goals, and that included a Chelsea man.
Estevao Willian scored a brace, as did Rodrygo, while Vinicius Junior also got on the scoresheet. Estevao went into the international break having scored a huge last-minute winner for Chelsea against Liverpool, and Enzo Maresca will be delighted to see him continue his scoring form for his nation.
The 18-year-old looks to be a scary talent, and his latest performance got him an 8/10 with Goal. They reasoned: “Started brightly and was rewarded with an early goal, which he took with aplomb. Faded somewhat but was alert enough to pounce on an error to bag himself a second.”
Ancelotti’s verdict
Speaking after the game, Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti spoke about his side’s performance and the display put on by Estevao. “I’m very pleased with the team’s performance,” he told Globo.
“Obviously, if you lay a strong foundation, with a solid defensive team, individual quality up front shines through. The team performed very well, because Rodrygo played a very good game, and so did Estevao. Up front, the team has a lot of variety, a lot of attacking solutions, and today we took advantage of the individual quality of these players.
“The key to the game was the first goal, because Korea started out trying to defend with a medium block, putting pressure on our defence. Estevao’s first goal opened up Korea’s defence a bit, and then we had more control of the game in attack.”
Estevao loving life at Chelsea
Some Chelsea fans have called for Estevao to get more game time at Chelsea, but Enzo Maresca has been managing the yougster sensibly. Despite being a young star, the forward himself seems to have a humble and patient mindset.
"I feel great right now and it’s so good that the manager has so much confidence in me," said the youngster after his late winner against Liverpool.
"When I went on, he told me to just play my own game and to try and make an impact. He told me to try and score or create a goal and thankfully I managed to do that. I’m so happy for him and for all the belief that the manager, Enzo Maresca, has in me."
He added: "I’m grateful to God, to my family, to all my team-mates, to the coaching staff and to everyone else at the club who has helped me with my football here. It’s an amazing feeling to score my first Premier League goal and in such a big game, I’m just so happy."
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