Chelsea teenager Estevão grabbed the spotlight in the Champions League as the London club defeated Barcelona 3-0 in their fifth-round match. At just 18 years old, the winger has been labeled the next big thing, earning comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo. However, Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca urged caution, emphasizing the need for the young star to stay grounded.
Estevão’s Stunning Goal Highlights Chelsea Victory
The standout moment came early in the second half when Richie James sent the ball to Estevão on the right flank. The young winger skillfully maneuvered past Pau Cubarsí and resisted a challenge from Alejandro Balde, firing a powerful right-footed shot into the net. The goal sparked excitement among fans and confirmed Estevão’s rising status in European football.
With this goal, Estevão became only the third teenager in Champions League history to score in his first three matches, joining the ranks of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. Since joining Chelsea from Palmeiras, he has scored five goals this season.
Maresca: Let the Teenager Enjoy Football
Despite the hype, Maresca advised against putting undue pressure on the young player.
“Estevão needs to relax. He needs to enjoy; he needs his training sessions. He needs to play football. He is very young, 18 years old. If you talk about Messi and Ronaldo now, I think it will put a lot of pressure on young boys like them,” said Maresca.
He continued,
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒐𝒓 𝑹𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒐, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆.”
Estevão himself was thrilled with his performance.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍. 𝑰𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚. 𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆,”.
While Estevão continues to impress in the Champions League, both Chelsea and Maresca emphasize the importance of letting young talents develop without excessive pressure, so they can focus on enjoying the game and improving their skills.
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