Brazil’s 5-0 win over South Korea was impressive enough on its own, but the performance of Chelsea prospect Estevao Willian made it even more notable.
During an international friendly against South Korea this Friday, Brazil secured a convincing 5-0 win. Fans of the Premier League will be pleased to see Estevao playing a key role in the victory.
In his eighth appearance for Brazil, the 18-year-old right-winger scored in both halves.
The first goal came from a pass by Bruno Guimaraes, which Estevao finished calmly. His second was more self-made, winning the ball back and finishing low into the net.
His display for Brazil highlights that he is ready right now to be a key player for the South American giants.
Following Brazil’s dominant victory, Carlo Ancelotti included a mention of Estevao Willian while reflecting on the performance.
“I’m very pleased with the team’s performance. Obviously, if you lay a strong foundation, with a solid defensive team, individual quality up front shines through. The team performed very well because Rodrygo played a very good game and so did Estevao. Up front, the team has a lot of variety and attacking solutions, and today we took advantage of the individual quality of these players…” Ancelotti said to Globo.
He concluded: “The key to the game was the first goal because Korea started out trying to defend with a medium block, putting pressure on our defence. Estevao’s first goal opened up Korea’s defence a bit and then we had more control of the game in attack.”
If Estevao is already proving himself at the international level for Brazil, a country with such a rich footballing tradition, there is no reason to think he cannot do the same for Chelsea.
So far this season, he has featured nine times for the Blues, with one goal and one assist to his name. Still, he has not played a full 90 minutes yet, as Enzo Maresca has taken a more measured approach to his integration.
But it is getting harder to ignore the impact he has whenever he steps on the pitch.
Estevao himself has spoken positively about his relationship with Maresca, and it is understandable why things have been managed carefully up to now. But after the international break, it might be time to give him a bigger role in the team.
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