'In the future…' – Enzo Maresca on Estevao – Yamal comparison

Enzo Maresca has just taken his pre-match press conference where he was asked about a variety of topics.

One thing he was pushed on was a comparison between the winger prodigies on both teams – Estevao Willian for Chelsea and Lamine Yamal for Barcelona.

As you’d expect, Maresca didn’t let the attention linger on the winger, or play into the pressurising comparison, and instead tried to move the conversation on to a more broad theme as quickly as possible:

“Estevao is going to be an important player in the future, no doubt, but he has to enjoy football, be happy, and not think about being better than one player. For sure, he is going to be a top player for this club,” Maresca concluded.

There is nothing to be gained from comparing our young talent with the world’s best young player.

He also wasn’t pushed into revealing much on the team themes either:

“[Barcelona] are playing in an amazing way; you always learn from Barca. The way they attack, the way they defend, they won the league last season. So they are a good team and they always have the initiative and we will try to do the same on our side.”

In other news…

In other Yamal news, Maresca was asked whether he planned to use Marc Cucurella to stop him, and while he played down the threat, we all know it’s going to be a key duel.

Another former Barcelona man, Marc Guiu impressed with his cameo on Saturday, and after picking up an assist for the crucial second goal had many podcasters praising him.