Estevao outshines Lamine Yamal to earn Lionel Messi comparisons and send Chelsea hype soaring | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca will find it difficult to keep a lid on excitement surrounding teenage superstar’s potential after special showing against Barcelona

On a night Chelsea fans walking down Fulham Road will have chatted with excitement about the rare chance to watch Lamine Yamal in the flesh, Chelsea’s own 18-year-old wonderkid stopped at the corner flag, pointed at himself, then pointed at the ground. Here I am, he was saying: the teenage star to really take note of.

While Yamal barely showed up - a gorgeous nutmeg through the legs of Spain team-mate Marc Cucurella his only stand-out moment - Estevao more than repaid the faith shown in him by Enzo Maresca. The mischievous Chelsea fan chants aimed at Yamal of “you’re just a s**t Estevao” suitably summed up their disparately different nights.

Suggestions that Estevao had scored a goal similar to Lionel Messi at Stamford Bridge were not welcomed by Maresca, who has used him sparingly throughout the season so far and wishes to keep a lid on the hype.

But Estevao’s performances of late threaten to lift that lid and fling it into the abyss. His enormous potential is a stirring thrill for all associated with Chelsea right now.

Estevao’s enormous potential is a stirring thrill for all associated with Chelsea right now

He became just the third teenager ever to have scored in all of his first three Champions League starts. Hard to keep a lid on the expectation when the other two were Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

There is variety to Estevao’s game. His favourite move is to cut inside on to his left foot and venture past and through dangled legs and into the centre of the pitch, yet he is equally effective when driving the ball down the right flank to the byline.

Enzo Fernandez’s second disallowed goal on Tuesday night came when he headed home in an offside position from Estevao’s beautifully-weighted free-kick. Shortly after he had netted his stunner, Estevao could be spotted unmarked in midfield, receiving a short pass from Fernandez, getting a robust shove in the back from Eric Garcia, but only after he had nonchalantly popped a pass back to Fernandez.

The fact Maresca is carefully managing Estevao’s minutes and refusing to overplay him at this stage in his development makes him no less a fan of Chelsea’s highest-ceiling signing of the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly ownership era.

“Estevao is like an old-style guy,” Maresca explained. “He’s not on his phone all the time, not spending a lot of time on social media.

“He’s working hard - a simple and normal kid. I love that. His family is always around. He’s a special player but a normal guy.”

Speaking after the game, a grinning Estevao admitted: “I don't really have any words to sum up how I am feeling.”

And that felt about right for a kid who had just produced the extraordinary.