What Cole Palmer told Estevao Willian speaks volumes as Chelsea star shines after transfer

Enzo Maresca has tried to stay away from the Estevao Willian hype. He has been too focused on Chelsea, the current players, and progressing through the Club World Cup.

Finally, after coming up against this golden boy wizard and getting the better of him over 90 minutes in Philadelphia, the head coach revealed that he had made direct contact. The lines between them had been broken.

“Estevao, I spoke with him for the first time after the game,” Maresca said at full-time after beating Palmeiras 2-1 on Saturday morning to reach the Club World Cup semi-final. “I told him that it’s been the perfect night because we won, he scored. So it’s been perfect for us and for him.”

And so begins the Chelsea story which started last summer with transfer confirmation and ended with a turn of fate that could hardly have been written into a fairytale ending.

When Chelsea lost to Flamengo, their chances of getting to the quarter-finals, let alone the semis, looked slim. Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain would be in the way. Even once they ended up on the kinder side of the bracket thanks to Benfica, Palmeiras would need to beat Botafogo.

Across an entire Brazilian Serie A season in 2024, Botafogo proved themselves to be the superior side. They beat PSG in the group stage and were marginal favourites for the last-16.

But Chelsea and Estevao could not be separated, even before he joined up with his new club. It is clear why Palmeiras were so keen to ensure he stayed with them for the tournament.

The moment of the match, perhaps, because this was a game decided by moments, belonged to Estevao. His touch to create space, which Levi Colwill really could not do much about because there was hardly a corridor to shoot from, was excellent.

Estevao is left-footed, and as an 18-year-old playing off the right, most of his good work comes from that. But here, with Palmeiras trying to get back into a game that Chelsea had mainly controlled, Estevao took a stab.

It was not a swing. It was far too controlled and precise for that, but it was a shot to nothing. Low risk but high reward. He had been sent to the byline and had the chance to win a corner, at best. As he stretched out his right foot to fire the ball towards goal, Colwill was in a good spot to make the block. Estevao was leaning back. This had no right to go in.

Robert Sanchez was not ready for it. The reaction of Estevao, to wheel away in joy and surprise, suggests even he was not quite sure what his chances of scoring were.

Thank goodness Estevao did not decide against celebrating. That would have taken the whole ‘celebrating in front of your former club/loan club’ nonsense to a new level.

He ran over to Richard Rios and leapt into his arms. Estevao’s arms were wide and his mouth was even wider. This was a goal that meant everything on multiple levels.

Celebrating against the team you will join as soon as you lose a game at this made-up summer tournament for FIFA and Gianni Infantino’s ego, knowing that it might be your last goal for the side who elevated you to superstardom, platformed in your home country, is absolutely brilliant. Chelsea will not mind.

If anything, seeing Estevao score as he exploited a tiny gap in their defensive framework, which hardly existed, is only a positive. This is the player they have signed. £29million up front with a possible total of £51million including add-ons? It really could be a bargain.

This was simultaneously an equaliser in a massive match for Palmeiras but also the very reality that it could be his last goal for the team who will forever mean everything to him. His last celebration. His last 40 minutes or so. And then there is the Chelsea aspect.

It would have been the biggest game of his life regardless of the opponents, but to do it against the team who you are already nervous to join, is astonishing. Estevao had not played a European side in his life three weeks ago. Now he has a goal to remember and a man of the match award from a 2-0 victory over Porto to his name.

This is incredibly promising for Chelsea, who may well be realising by the day that Estevao is a little more ready to be of use for them next season than was initially expected. His performances at the Club World Cup suggest a smoother transition than is normal for teenagers moving from South America.

Maresca is being more cautious, understandably. “Very good, very good,” he said in his post-match press conference about Estevao. The first sign of the professional mask slipping even a little to allow the Chelsea-centric narrative to take over.

“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. 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.”

He will now have to get over the conflict in emotions. The sadness – and there were tears at the end – as well as the excitement. Cole Palmer, whose early opener showed exactly the sort of attacking threat Estevao will eventually compete with at Stamford Bridge, did look annoyed after Estevao’s goal.

That is the standard he will be held to. Chelsea had been pegged back after Palmer’s own stardust from a quick start had put them ahead.

Estevao proved that he belonged on this stage, whatever this stage actually is. He was not a kid amongst men but a genuine challenge for Chelsea to deal with.

His next steps will be to prepare for the most defining few months of his life so far. Estevao will have to move home. He will get settled in England. He has a holiday to have as well.

He will be able to watch and support Chelsea for however long their tournament continues. It was telling that he was greeted by a host of players at the end. They will not fail to have been impressed with his display at such an age.

Palmer tried talking to him but the images of Estevao’s confused face as they leant over each other’s shoulder says it all. “I just said we are excited for you to join, but he didn’t understand a single word I said,” explained Palmer.

The pair exchanged shirts and pictures of them on this random night in Philadelphia, whilst most of the UK was asleep, may well become enshrined in folklore moving forward. If Estevao becomes a fraction of the player many are predicting, then Chelsea are in for a ride.

Not even Maresca can hide from that now. After spending all season and all tournament trying to deflect questions, he can no longer run away from questions diplomatically and does not need to.

Estevao’s current coach had some even more glowing praise. “He’s my son, he’s my son,” Abel Ferreira gushed. “I have two daughters but he is my son.

“I spoke with Maresca, he is a nice coach. He bought an amazing players but more than this, you got an amazing person. He is one guy who is 18 years old, so is an amazing player also.

“You need to take care of him. Embrace him. He will make mistakes at the beginning, for sure, but he is an amazing player with a lot of skills. He can win one game on his own, with the dribbling, the shots.

“I told him the sun doesn’t appear as much in England. The night comes early. But for sure, Chelsea have all conditions to help him because he is a fantastic player.”

Estevao did always feel destined to score here, and he also felt destined to lose. Palmeiras simply aren’t as good as Chelsea. Even a Chelsea that lost captain Reece James in the warm-up, Romeo Lavia from the previous round, and Moises Caicedo to suspension, are too strong.

The answer was Andrey Santos, who is the sort of player picked from Brazil at a young age by European teams because he is going to become a mainstay of the world game for a decade to come as well. How do Palmeiras fight against that?

It still took Chelsea a scrappy late winner to get over the line. It was both the ideal end for Estevao, starting a new chapter when the last one had hardly finished, and frustratingly disappointing. Bittersweet, perhaps.

He got his final glory. Beating Chelsea would have been better for him personally but the way his future now continues immediately in blue rather than green will still mean everything.

Maresca will now turn his focus to Fluminense and the chance to reach the final. Estevao will be as soon out of his thoughts again as he was in them. From now on, though, the looming arrival of this increasingly known unknown will be unavoidable again.

Palmer greeted Estevao like a Chelsea player. Maresca closed the gap on speaking of him like a Chelsea player. It was symbolically his last day tied to Palmeiras as a player.

Estevao’s Chelsea arc started here. It could not have been written better.