Chelsea flexed their attacking muscles to thrash West Ham on Friday night under the lights at the London Stadium.
Chelsea picked up their first Premier League win of the new season by securing an emphatic 5-1 away victory against rivals West Ham, which they did despite conceding early on. In response, they netted five times through five different goalscorers to clinch three points.
After Cole Palmer was ruled out from playing against West Ham at the very last moment, Estevao Willian was a late inclusion in Chelsea’s starting line-up.
Estevao, 18, made his Premier League debut in the goalless draw against Crystal Palace last week. In yesterday’s game he got to show why there’s so much hype around him when he started for the first time at his new club.
The right-winger did lose possession in the build-up to West Ham’s opening goal, but the teenager responded in perfect fashion with an excellent individual display away from home. In particular, he produced a memorable assist for Enzo Fernandez’s goal with a superb cross after an eye-catching dribble.
Pedro Neto, Estevao and Liam Delap of Chelsea line up
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Jamie Redknapp stunned after watching Estevao Willian live
Jamie Redknapp was full of praise for Blues attacker Estevao following his spectacular contribution during the win against West Ham.
When discussing the performance of Chelsea’s Estevao against the Hammers, Redknapp said on Sky Sports’ Main Event channel (10:55pm, 22 August): “Yeah he’s a lovely footballer, the kid. And in his defence in the first few minutes when he came on, he gets played that ball and tried that flick and he was like okay this is fast, this is the Premier League at its best, he’s away from home.
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
“You’ve given away a goal, sometimes a young player can go under, I don’t want it anymore but he never. He kept wanting to get on it, he showed great ability, lovely dribbling skills, he’s got that effortless grace and poise and balance.”
Minutes played Goals Assists Total shots Chances created Accurate passes Successful dribbles Tackles won Match rating
77 0 1 1 1 26/32 (81%) 2/3 (67%) 2/3 (67%) 8.0
Estevao Willian statistics during Chelsea’s win against West Ham via FOTMOB
Without a doubt, Estevao will be a popular topic of conversation with Chelsea supporters after his display on his first Premier League start. The reality is that the young Brazilian sensation is ready for Premier League football.
The skilful attacker has already shown he can glide past defenders in this league, and other parts of his game will only get even better with more experience.
Estevao broke a Chelsea record in the West Ham fixture, becoming their youngest assist maker in the Premier League. We’re pretty confident that there will be a lot more to come from him as the season progresses, too.
The fact that Chelsea turned down loan enquiries for Estevao earlier this summer already looks like the correct decision.
Jamie Redknapp working as a pundit for Sky Sports during Newcastle United and Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
How Enzo Maresca reacted to Estevao Willian’s performance vs West Ham
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca delivered an interesting verdict on Estevao following the West Ham contest.
Even though he acknowledged the error from the youngster that led to his team conceding, he was super impressed by his overall performance and contribution.
In his post-match interview, Maresca said via Chelsea’s official website: “We conceded a goal because of him (Estevao), he lost the ball in the build-up, so he needs to make a mistake to learn, but overall the performance was very good. His reaction to that mistake showed how good he is, and the reason why he is here with us.”
It feels like Maresca is the perfect manager to get the best out of Chelsea’s talented youngsters, including Estevao. The rising star will quickly learn he needs to excel in all areas to become a regular starter in the Blues XI.