Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian has revealed the words of encouragement his Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca gave him before he scored the winning goal in the Blues' pulsating 2-1 win over Liverpool. The 18-year-old was introduced as a second-half substitute, ppping up at the perfect moment to cap off a sweeping team move that earned the Blues all three points.
Maresca tells Willian: "Play your own game"
In a post-game interview with , the young winger expressed his delight at being part of the victory, and how much he is enjoying plying his trade in west London. Despite limited English, the 18-year-old spoke with excitement and passion with a beaming smile that did not need any translating.
"Oh wow," he said. "I'm just so, so happy.
"I’m grateful to God, to my family, to all my team-mates, to the coaching staff and to everyone else at the club who has helped me with my football here.
"It’s an amazing feeling to score my first Premier League goal and in such a big game, I’m just so happy."
Estevao, who joined the club this summer from Palmeiras in a fee worth up to £55 million ($74m), revealed his manager gave him the freedom to go out and impact the game, despite his relative inexperience.
"I feel great right now and it’s so good that the manager has so much confidence in me," Estevao added.
"When I went on, he told me to just play my own game and to try and make an impact. He told me to try and score or create a goal and thankfully I managed to do that.
"I’m so happy for him and for all the belief that the manager, Enzo Maresca, has in me."
Estevao is clearly enjoying his football at the moment, and is showing little sign of the added pressure of Premier League football and a move to a new country.
"Things at Chelsea have gone a lot better so far than I maybe imagined," he stated. "I feel so good in training every day and I enjoy every moment.
"I have fantastic team-mates and coaching staff around me that help me each day, and it’s very helpful that I have my family with me and they’ve helped me really settle into life in England and the Premier League.
"I couldn’t be happier!"
AdvertisementAFPMaresca shows faith in Estevao
Chelsea's manager did not make any comments after the game, as he was dismissed for two yellow card offences. The first came after he showed dissent against the match officials, with the second coming after he joined with the raucous celebrations following Estevao's late winner.
It is likely the Italian would have heaped praise on the young Brazilian. Earlier this week, the former Leicester City boss compared Estevao to Chelsea's injured talisman Cole Palmer, suggesting he has the quality to play both as a winger and more centrally.
Estevao impresses during early days at Chelsea
The young Brazilian has been managed carefully by Maresca so far, starting just four games and playing in roughly 40% of his available minutes. Even with limited playing time, he had shown flashes of brilliance despite limited output. Before Saturday, he had notched one goal contribution, an assist in the Blues 5-1 drubbing of West Ham in August.
Getty Images SportIs Estevao ready for a bigger role?
The jubilation of his lat-minute winner will quickly subside, but it seems the 18-year-old wants to taste more and more success at Stamford Bridge. After he upcoming international break, the youngster will almost certainly feature in Chelsea's away trip to Nottingham Forest and their next Champions League tie against Ajax. Given Palmer's injury issues, as well as layoffs for Facundo Buonnanote and Liam Delap, it would not be a surprise to see the 18-year-old given an expanded role going forward.