Estevao Willian was Chelsea’s star performer in their 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace last Sunday.
Estevao opened the scoring for Chelsea before assisting Joao Pedro’s goal with an exquisite pass.
It was Estevao’s second goal in the Premier League this season and sixth across all competitions. Meanwhile, Noni Madueke has not scored for a year in the English top flight.
Noni Madueke hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in over a year!
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Noni Madueke's and Estevao Willian's 2025/26 Premier League stats
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images/Marc Atkins
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Following the winger’s performance against Palace, former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy has been speaking about his role in the team going forward.
Pedro Neto, Estevao and Liam Delap of Chelsea line up
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Jason Cundy believes Estevao Willian is occupying Pedro Neto’s best position
Estevao has mostly played on the right since arriving at Chelsea from Palmeiras, but Cundy thinks that is also Pedro Neto’s best position.
According to the retired full-back, Liam Rosenior now has a bit of a dilemma on his hands, though he has made it clear that Estevao cannot be dropped under any circumstances.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Inside Chelsea show, Cundy said: “[Estevao] has to start. The problem that we’ve got and it’s a problem that other managers have had, you solve the right-hand side but you create a problem on the left. Now Pedro Neto, for me, is better on the right, but you can’t put Estevao out.”
Neto was not at his best against Palace and also had a difficult outing versus Pafos in the Champions League prior to last weekend’s London derby. That night, Neto made 15 unsuccessful crosses.
Pedro Neto really needs to mix up his game 🤦♂️
What did you make of his performance against Pafos?
Pedro Neto's number of crosses vs Pafos
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It will now be interesting to see who starts on the right against Napoli on Wednesday, Estevao or Neto.
Estevao of Chelsea looks on
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Estevao Willian should start over Pedro Neto
Neto has been one of Chelsea’s more consistent performers this season. In total, the Portuguese has scored seven goals and provided four assists in 33 appearances.
However, there is no doubt that Estevao is Chelsea’s danger man right now. The opposition just cannot live with him.
Against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, for example, the 18-year-old attempted six dribbles and completed five of them, as per Sofascore.
He is not the kind of winger you want running at you, while the Brazilian has shown this season that he does have the calmness and composure to finish an opportunity.
For as consistent as Neto has been in the current campaign, starting Estevao over him in a game where Chelsea have to score and win is a no-brainer.
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