Young, fearless, and ready for the Premier League — that’s what Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca sees in Estevao Willian following their FIFA Club World Cup victory over Palmeiras.

On Friday night, Estevao gave the Blues fans something special to hold onto as he smashed in a stunning goal against his future teammates while still playing for Palmeiras, Footballrover reports.

Estevao Willian shows Chelsea he’s ready for big stage

Willian, only 18, didn’t hold back during the Club World Cup clash. From the first whistle, he showed he was committed to Palmeiras — crunching into tackles and fighting for every ball.

Then, just eight minutes into the second half, Estevao reminded everyone why the 2025 Conference League winners were ready to spend £29 million on him.

He picked up a sharp pass inside the box, took a classy left-foot touch, stepped past Levi Colwill, and fired a rocket shot off the bar and past keeper Robert Sanchez.

His goal levelled the match at 1-1 after Cole Palmer had put EPL team ahead. In the end, they won 2-1 thanks to a late own goal by Agustin Giay, but it was Estevao’s moment that turned heads.

Chelsea’s Maresca sure Estevao can handle Premier League

After the final whistle, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca didn’t hide his excitement about Estevao joining Stamford Bridge this month.

When asked if the Brazilian can cope with the Premier League’s tough style, Maresca said:

“Yes. Very good, very good. You can see that he’s a huge talent. You can see that he’s a fantastic player. And the only thing for me is when you come from South America or, in general, from the other part of the world, Europe, you need to adapt.

The Chelsea boss added:

“So, we’re going to help him to adapt. First of all, to be happy, to continue to enjoy football. And we don’t have any doubt because he’s so good that he’s going to be a very important player for Chelsea.”

Chelsea sealed the Estevao deal last summer but had to wait until he turned 18 in April.

At 18 years and 71 days old, he became the second-youngest player to score at this year’s Club World Cup, with only Porto’s Rodrigo Mora younger at 18 years and 49 days against Al Ahly.

Now, the Brazilian star with five senior caps is heading to London, and Maresca is confident fans will soon see exactly why he’s worth every penny.

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Last Updated on July 5, 2025 9:20 am by Sir Kris