Enzo Maresca has urged Chelsea winger Estevao to ignore growing comparisons with Barcelona star Lamine Yamal ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash between the two clubs. The Italian coach was speaking in his pre-match press conference as attention once again turned to the meeting of two of Europe’s most talked-about teenage forwards.
Estevao, 18, has impressed since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Palmeiras in July, registering nine goals for club and country and quickly forcing his way into the Brazil setup. Yamal, who is three months younger, is already a key figure for Barcelona and Spain, and has emerged as one of the standout young players in world football.
Maresca, however, was keen to stress that Estevao is already operating at a very high level in his own right. He told reporters ahead of the Blues’ hosting Barcelona at the Bridge:
“Estevao is already playing at a high level, he is already in the starting eleven with Brazil. For sure, he is very young, he can do many things better, but we are very happy with him.
The Chelsea manager continued:
“It’s nice for people that love football to watch players like Estevao, like Lamine Yamal, like (Barcelona midfielder) Pedri. This is the beauty of football.”
Looking ahead, Maresca insisted that the focus for Estevao must remain on personal development rather than outside comparisons.
“He is going to be for sure an important player for this club. For the future, no doubt. He has to be happy. He has not to think about being better than this player or the other player. He has just to be better than himself day by day. Try to work hard, improve.”
Marc Cucurella discusses Estevao vs. Lamine Yamal
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has also weighed in on the Estevao vs. Lamine Yamal debate in the build-up to facing Barcelona. The left-back knows Yamal well from the Spain national team and has spent recent months training daily with Estevao at Cobham.
Cucurella has spoken about the similarities between the two youngsters, while noting that Yamal has simply had more time at the elite European level. At the same time, he has repeatedly tried to shift the narrative away from an individual duel, insisting that Chelsea’s focus must be on collective organisation.
When asked about the prospect of marking the Barcelona winger, he said:
“It’s not Lamine [Yamal] vs Cucurella. It’s a big game. I told Estevao to put on shin pads in this training session because I’m going to be training [for Yamal] on him.”