Split image of Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso and a shadow, with a cracked Chelsea badge in between - copyright F365
Split image of Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso and a shadow, with a cracked Chelsea badge in between - copyright F365
Steven Gerrard has raved about Estevao Willian’s performance for Chelsea against Manchester United and has warned Blues manager Xabi Alonso that he will have a problem fitting the winger into his team when Joao Pedro returns.
Estevao started for Chelsea in their 2-0 win against Man Utd at Stamford Bridge in London in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Brazil international winger was taken off in the 87th minute after a very encouraging performance.
The 19-year-old took six shots, of which three were on target, and created three chances.
It was Estevao’s first Premier League start of the season in which he had two goals disallowed.
Liverpool legend Gerrard was hugely impressed with Estevao and believes that Chelsea manager Alonso would have a problem fitting the winger into his frontline when Joao Pedro is back from his thigh injury.
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Steven Gerrard gives verdict on Chelsea winger Estevao Willian
Gerrard said on The Overlap Daily: “He’s really exciting. He’s great to watch.
“Your typical Brazilian where it’s about flair, it’s about quality, but I really like that he is very direct.
“I like that he is hungry to get shots off.
“If there is a little criticism of some of the players for Liverpool in the attacking areas, I would say they don’t shoot enough.
“They are looking for that maybe that extra pass or that little bit of perfection, whereas what I like about Estevao is certainly the one when he’s coming off the left, a little combination play, and he whips that in.
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“It’s a fantastic save from the Utd keeper, but I like the way he’s hungry to get shots off.
“And there was an opportunity in the first half where he could have slowed the game down a bit more and looked to pull it back to the edge of the box, but he wanted to be that little bit hungry to go and get himself a goal.
“So, he’s desperate to impress the manager, and he’s going to give Xabi a problem when Joao Pedro comes back because Neto is a great player as well, but five doesn’t go into that front four, so it’s going to be interesting.
“But he has done himself no harm at all in terms of his own individual performance.”
Alonso also praised Estevao after the match against Man Utd and told Chelsea’s official website: “We knew earlier this week – you ask me but sometimes I can’t give you all the info.
“We spoke after Tottenham and he knew he was going to be playing today.
“He had the best response and showed that he deserves more and that he was prepared, and that is what we want from our players. So we’re very happy for him.
“He deserves to enjoy this game; he had a good connection with the crowd and was really close to scoring his goal.
“He fought really hard and at the end he was tired, but it has been a good day for him.”