Chelsea star feels the wrath of furious Enzo Maresca as constant Estevao request speaks volumes

The main talking points from Chelsea's 2-0 win away at Burnley on Saturday afternoon with Enzo Maresca's side digging in for the victory at Turf Moor

For 86-or-so minutes, those Chelsea fans were desperate to see one thing. Or one person, more accurately. Estevao Willian.

Such the way the 18-year-old Brazilian has lit up Stamford Bridge since his arrival in the summer, Blues supporters who had made the mammoth trip up to Burnley chanted his name consistently for the majority of Chelsea's win on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of miles away, early on a Saturday, freezing cold - it didn't matter. The feel-good factor was there for all to see - or hear - with those in the away end singing their little magician's name.

"Estevao, uh huh, uh huh, I like it, uh huh, uh huh" to the tune of 1970s classic 'That’s the Way (I Like It)' by KC and the Sunshine Band. A catchy tune - one that remains stuck in your head throughout the seemingly never-ending trip back from Burnley.

They almost got their wish for the teenager to come on from the bench. So close. Estevao was kitted up and receiving the final instructions from Enzo Maresca, ready to get a few minutes on the pitch with the Blues a goal to the good at the time. Though when Enzo Fernandez doubled Chelsea's lead just before the fourth official's board went up, Maresca felt no need to use Estevao.

Back to the bench he went. The Brazilian was not used ahead of a crucial Champions League tie with Barcelona on Tuesday night. Asked by football.london how Estevao reacted to being told to sit back down, Maresca laughed. "If he's disappointed then he's not playing on Tuesday," joked Maresca. Just for the avoidance of doubt, the Chelsea head coach added: "No, no, he was okay. He was okay."

For plenty of this season, Estevao has been the man who has made the difference for Chelsea, but he wasn't needed at Turf Moor. He has managed to, if at all possible, fill the void - or at least some of it - left by Cole Palmer's absence, but the Blues' attacking depth without either of the creators was showcased in Lancashire on Saturday.

Liam Delap didn't set the world alight with his performance but Maresca seemed pleased with the No.9, while Jamie Gittens impressed on the left-hand side. Pedro Neto was - once again - absolutely magnificent for Chelsea. When things aren't going his team's way, if a team is playing in a low-block setup and aiming to frustrate Chelsea, Neto is so often the guy to make the difference.

He was that again on Saturday. A fantastic run - and an even better delivery from Gittens - saw the Portugal international find himself in a dangerous position to intelligently head the ball past Martin Dubravka. It is no wonder Maresca trusts the 25-year-old winger so much.

That's all 12 games Neto has started in the Premier League for Chelsea. While fans, and even the casual spectators, want to see a player as exciting and fearless as Estevao on the pitch as much as humanly possible, how are you dropping Neto? That makes Tuesday night's team selection even more intriguing.

Estevao wasn't used at all in Burnley, so surely he starts - one would think, anyway. But how do you not start Neto? He's perhaps Chelsea's most crucial player at the moment. There is a way, of course, Maresca uses both from the start, with Estevao in a more central role, but perhaps that is too much of a risk in a game of such magnitude.

Three goals and two assists in Neto's last five Premier League appearances makes him virtually undroppable. Couple that with his astonishing work-rate off the ball - something that has helped mould him into perhaps the first name on the team sheet for Maresca.

Chelsea, in the end, put in a professional performance in a potentially tricky match with Burnley. A first-half that won't live long in the memory but a second-half that showed everything that has been great about Chelsea this season. They rode the Burnley storm, although that might be too kind to the Clarets, in the first-half and came through unscathed.

Maresca said post-match: "It was a tough game for many reasons. Again, after the international break, 12 o'clock in the morning, Burnley away, this type of pitch.

"Also, we need to manage players, so it was a very tricky game, and the way the players compete, again, another clean sheet. I don't think probably they had one important chance in the second-half. Overall, I think we deserved to win the game and we are happy."

The visitors scored a brilliant goal and then they were allowed to control the game - playing their best football of the match. Burnley barely threatened in the second period. Chelsea were smart with how they operated when a goal to the good. And as is often the case, their street-smart performance paid off with a second goal. The one that completely eliminated any hope for the home side.

Maresca was delighted with how his side performed, especially in the second-half, but he was not always a content figure on the touchline. In the second-half, with Chelsea coming under a bit of pressure at this point, Robert Sanchez collected the ball from a corner.

A bit of time for the defence to regain their shape and recover a bit of energy. So you would think, anyway, but instead Sanchez went long to try and find Neto, who was open on the right wing.

Commendable in many ways because if the drop-kick pass from Sanchez had have been a bit better, then Chelsea had a serious chance on goal. Ultimately, though, it didn't - and that left Maresca furious on the side.

Maresca, who was on the other side of the pitch to the press box so what he said was inaudible, shouted at his goalkeeper. The Chelsea head coach would have liked the Spaniard to keep hold of the ball for a few seconds, allow the team to reset and play out from the back.

Maresca was, however, left delighted with Andrey Santos and the performance he put in at Turf Moor. There were a few worried Chelsea supporters when the XI was dropped at 11:15am. No Moises Caicedo.

After arriving back from international duty on Thursday evening, Maresca opted to name Caicedo, who won the club's Player of the Month award for September and October, on the bench. Santos filled in as the No.6 in Caicedo's absence. Difficult, of course, to fill the void left by a world-class player like Caicedo not being in the line-up, but Santos did his absolute best.

A dazzling display from Chelsea's Brazilian midfielder. In possession, he broke the lines plenty of times to set the Blues on their way. It was, however, off the ball where Santos really shone. Seven duels won, four interceptions, four clearances and three tackles summarise a truly brilliant defensive display from the midfielder.

"It was very good," said Maresca when asked about Santos' performance. "Andrey's position is the position that he played today. With us, most of the time he plays a little bit higher, a little bit in the pocket, but it's because in that position we have Moises, so we try to find solutions, space for Andrey, but we are aware and we know that Andrey's position is the position that he played today."

It was the first time in nearly two years that Chelsea played a Premier League game without the relentless Caicedo featuring whatsoever. Maresca said in a jokey tone that it will be the last time it happened, yet you took the Chelsea head coach's comments very seriously.

For Chelsea, a mammoth Champions League tie with Barcelona awaits. The sort of match you feel could go down in the club's history. The sort of match this young group of Chelsea players should be relishing right now.