Estevao has ‘had enough’ at Chelsea after brutal Alonso, Palmer reactions vs Leeds | OneFootball

“He’s had enough, he’s had enough…” came the chant from the Leeds fans as Estevao rolled on the deck clutching his ankle after a man-and-ball challenge from James Justin to deny him a shot on goal in the box. Incredibly, alarmingly, after just ten minutes, they weren’t wrong.

Both the travelling fans and Estevao himself clearly remembered the Brazilian sensation’s chastening experience under the lights at Elland Road last December.

Having got precisely no change out of Gabriel Gudmundsson for the first half hour of that game he petulantly kicked out at the Leeds full-back and – having perhaps been fortunate to only receive a yellow card rather a red – was hooked by Enzo Maresca at half-time.

The former Chelsea boss said after the game: “The feeling with Estevao was a little bit like welcome to the Premier League. Welcome to Leeds.

“The impact to him has probably been big, a big impact. Sometimes at 18, you struggle with emotion. It was better to change him, to avoid any red cards.”

The 18-year-old was bullied then and was bullied again here having been handed what looks to set to be a rare opportunity to play in a more favoured position.

His agent said when he joined Chelsea that key to that decision was the club being more open to playing him as a No.10. He doesn’t particularly want to be stuck out on the wing; certainly not at right wing-back.

We saw Estevao’s unquestionable quality in his late cameo against Arsenal, when he very nearly rescued a point for Chelsea with a lightening quick cut inside and shot which was tipped over the bar by David Raya.

“100% because of his potential,” Alonso said when asked if the teenager has an important role in the squad. “He’s in that process to adapt and to learn quickly. And the season is going to be long.”

It’s a question the Chelsea manager can expect to field on a regular basis this season because of the barriers to significant game time in front of Estevao. He has little hope of displacing any of Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro or Cole Palmer in his 3-4-3 formation on the basis of their start to the season.

He probably has more talent than any of them. He would be the one of the four we would pick out as a genuine Ballon d’Or hopeful.

The reason he’s not in the team and will struggle to break into it is his comparative lack of physicality. And with that trait arguably the harbinger of Premier League success in the modern day, it’s reasonable to wonder if he’s not long for the English top flight.

It would be a travesty, but one that anyone watching will have felt edged that bit closer at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. He was once again completely dominated by Leeds and to rub salt in his real and metaphorical wounds his exit at half-time brought about a quite stunning turnaround by Chelsea.

Reggie Watson, Malo Gusto and Jamie Gittens were also hooked and replaced by the Premier League cavalry.

After Leeds quickly doubled their first-half lead, Palmer scored from the penalty spot and then rolled in a nonchalant second from the edge of the box to bring the scores level. Pedro Neto then gave the Blues the lead with another fine finish, before Danny Welbeck showed some nifty feet before drilling in the fourth.

Rogers got three of those assists and deserved a fourth – after Dominic Calvert-Lewin got a third for Leeds – when the £116m summer signing muscled his way to the byline before his deflected pull back found Valentin Barco, who got an assist of his own when Welbeck nodded in the Argentine’s mishit shot.

The attack looked as free-flowing and dynamic in the second half as it did feeble and stunted in the first. And one of the major problems for Estevao isn’t just how effective his rivals for a place in the team were here and have been at the start of the season, it’s that his opportunities to force his way into the side will come in these cup games, likely with second-string players like him who will make it harder for him to impress in combination with.

The takeaway from this remarkable 6-3 victory, after similar such feelings followed the 4-3 win over Brighton and 3-2 win over Fulham, will be “aren’t Chelsea fun”.

It’s a real shame that the fun arrived after Estevao’s exit, if not definitively because of it, as it adds to a growing sense that there’s no space in the team for the Brazilian to showcase his absurd talent, which may end up being enjoyed from afar in a league more suited to his less Premier League-centric qualities.