Maresca on Estevao threat and whether Pedro Neto will play against Palmeiras | OneFootball

Chelsea face Palmeiras in the quarter-final of the Club World Cup today and Enzo Maresca has insisted he is focused on the entire team in front of him, not just Estevao.

Ahead of the clash with the Brazilian side, all eyes will be on 18-year-old Estevao, who will line up to face the side he will join immediately after this competition finishes for Palmeiras.

The game against Chelsea could even be his last ever game for the Brazilian side if they are to go out against the Blues.

On facing the teenager, Maresca said: “When we prepare games, we are used to prepare games thinking about the team, not the players that are on the other side. And we have done exactly the same in this game. So we prepare the game against Palmeiras, not against Estevao.

“In this moment, he is a Palmeiras player that is going to play against Chelsea tomorrow. So we don’t care if in the future he will be with us when this competition is finished. The only thing we are focused on is to do our best to try to beat Palmeiras and not to beat Estevao. Just think about them as a team.”

Palmeiras are one of the only sides left in this competition who are as yet unbeaten, and after Chelsea struggled against fellow Brazilian team Flamengo, Maresca is weary of the threat they will pose.

“We always respect Brazilian football. We don’t need this tournament to respect Brazilian football… They show each game here in this competition how good they are. And they’re going to continue also after this competition.”

A player who could miss out in the crunch game is Pedro Neto, following the tragic death of his close friend Diogo Jota. Maresca was asked if Neto might play against Palmeiras, and said: “It’s completely Pedro’s decision. I had a chat this morning with Pedro. We support him.

“Any decision he will take is the correct one, and we are going to support him in any case. So it doesn’t matter if we’ll be in the pitch or not. We’ll see how he is feeling tomorrow. But in any case, we’re gonna support him.”