Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace in their opening match of the new season. Blues attacker Estevao Willian provided a talking point during a frustrating contest, though.
The Blues kickstarted their new campaign on Sunday afternoon with a 0-0 draw at home to London rivals Palace in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, Enzo Maresca’s side struggled to get past an organised Palace outfit. It means they settle for a point and will search for their first three points of the season when they travel to West Ham on Friday night.
Estevao Willian, 18, made his first competitive appearance for Chelsea as he came on for a Premier League debut during the second half. While on the pitch, the Brazilian right-winger did inject a bit of a spark into a dull game with his directness, but he couldn’t find a match-winning moment.
Gary Lineker is excited by Chelsea signing Estevao, and it’s quite obvious that he’s going to bring a lot to Stamford Bridge.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see the teenager go straight into the starting XI for the next league match.
Estevao Willian playing for Chelsea against Crystal Palace in the Premier League match.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Steve Sidwell noticed Estevao Willian’s physicality
Steve Sidwell certainly enjoyed the cameo performance from Estevao off the bench against Palace. In particular, he pointed out that the youngster is actually pretty strong for someone his size.
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Sidwell said on BBC Radio 5 Live (3:20pm, 17 August): “That is what you want. Estevao has come off the bench and made an impact. The Chelsea faithful will be all over him if he carries on doing that.”
He later added (3:26pm): “What has been impressive from Estevao is he only has a slight frame and the two times he has got the ball he has held players off. He has strong upper body strength.”
Even though Estevao has arrived at Chelsea at such a young age, he’s got plenty of experience. It’s quite obvious when you see his physicality that he played a lot of first-team football with Palmeiras.
Chelsea rejected loan enquiries for Estevao this summer because he’s gone straight into their plans.
Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens were the starting wide players in the Palace draw, but we felt that Estevao added something with his introduction. The early signs are that he’s more than ready to become an important figure straight away for Maresca’s team.
Estevao Willian for Chelsea against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Estevao Willian statistics vs Crystal Palace
Even though Estevao’s final ball didn’t really come off against Palace, he still looked livelier than the majority of his teammates.
Minutes played Total shots Accurate passes Number of sprints Touches Successful dribbles Accurate crosses Match rating
37 1 7/7 (100%) 6 21 2/6 (33%) 1/4 (25%) 6.5
Estevao Willian statistics during Chelsea vs Crystal Palace via FOTMOB
Shaun Wright-Phillips advised Estevao to keep his style of play despite the huge transfer to the Premier League. Well, the early signs are that the creative playmaker will continue to dribble at opponents regularly, but he may find the Premier League defences are a lot tougher to dominate.
We hope the attacker’s debut today marks the start of a long and successful career in Chelsea colours.