Dramatic and late scenes at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea grab all 3 points against Liverpool in the Premier League.
Moises Caicedo opened the scoring with an absolute rocket in pure Caicedo style.
Liverpool grabbed an equaliser through Cody Gakpo. But Chelsea’s Brazilian wonderkid, Estevao caused fans to erupt with his late winner.
The 18 year-old has shown glimpses of brilliance in a Chelsea shirt since arriving from Palmeiras, but football is all about game-changing moments and today Estevao manufactured his.
Enzo Maresca responded to criticism about his in-game management superbly, as he didn’t hide or go defensive when Cody Gakpo’s goal went in.
Estevao came on for Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens came on for Alejandro Garnacho and Marc Guiu came on for Joao Pedro. Those are the substitutions of a manager looking for the 3 points.
Estevao rewarded Maresca’s faith in him, as like usual he looked dangerous every time he was on the ball.
Chelsea fans are not strangers to seeing the Brazilian take the game by the scruff of the neck from his time playing in Brazil, and this is the first time he’s shown this quality for the club.
Estevao made two big moments in the game. The first was a beautiful cross towards Enzo Fernandez, who should’ve put his header in the back of the net.
Then of course the goal. His run at the back post is one that Chelsea have lacked from both sides of the pitch, but we were shown today why those kinds of runs need to be made more often.
Marc Cucurella played a beautiful ball across goal, as Estevao tapped the ball into the net to give Chelsea the deserved win.
Anyone saying the Blues didn’t deserve today’s victory are kidding themselves.
With the unfortunate injuries to both our central defenders, Reece James and Jorell Hato were tasked with being the centre piece of the backline.
Yet even with those setbacks, Chelsea responded in a manner that the fans can be proud of.
Estevao defined the team’s mentality after Liverpool scored. Keep pushing, keep attacking and believe the goal will come. That was clearly the message from the coach.
The next game on Chelsea’s schedule after the international break is Nottingham Forest.
Maresca will have some problems to deal with as the injuries pile up, but will he reward Estevao with a start after his winning goal?
With Cole Palmer’s absence, his flair and spark in attack could be needed.