“Because of him…” – Enzo Maresca criticises Estevao despite MOTM performance | OneFootball

Chelsea sliced through West Ham 5-1 tonight, and one of the standout performers was their new Brazilian starlet.

After Cole Palmer pulled out injured from the warmup, Estevao Willian got the callup for his first start for us in a competitive game. He didn’t disappoint.

Estevao was superb, and won the man of the match award from Sky Sports. As Rob Green said on their commentary, he said the kid had played like “the shirt weighed nothing.” There were no nerves. This is an 18 year old making their debut in the Premier League, playing like the star he is.

Maresca not afraid to call out wonderkid’s mistake

Estevao Willian on the ball. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Well, one person wasn’t willing to just praise him blindly. When asked for his thoughts on the kid’s debut, manager Enzo Maresca made sure to point out the one bad moment – the flick he tried to pull off which handed the ball to West Ham, who scored.

“We concede the goal because of him – he lost the ball in the build-up, he needs to make mistake to learn, but overall he impressed.”

If that seems a little harsh, you should be aware that the manager said it with a twinkle in his eye – but that doesn’t mean he’s not also 100% serious. Estevao will certainly get told not to try that sort of thing in his own half as well as getting praised for his performance apart from that.

Estevao’s bright start

We thought Estevao would be brought in slowly – instead, thanks to Palmer’s problem, he’s had a start and a sub appearance after two games.

There are always going to be things to improve – but overall we couldn’t be more pleased with his impact so far. We’ll happily take a few mistakes – that’s all part of being an entertainer.