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Chelsea put Barcelona to the sword on Tuesday evening with Estevao Willian the star of the show in an unforgettable night at Stamford Bridge
Enzo Maresca's handling of Estevao Willian has been nothing short of perfect so far. Chelsea supporters have been desperate to see as much as humanly possible of the 18-year-old winger following his arrival from Palmeiras in the summer, but the Blues head coach has not given into external pressure and has used the teenage prodigy on his own terms.
In his debut season at the club, Estevao has so far made 17 appearances in all competitions - scoring five and assisting one in the process - but only eight of them have been starts. The Brazil international has been nothing short of a revelation since signing and Chelsea are delighted with how he has seemingly seamlessly adapted to a brand new life in England.
Estevao has lit up Stamford Bridge in the early parts of the campaign, but has only made back-to-back starts once this term. That came back in August, with Maresca looking to protect the teenage sensation and take him out of the spotlight.
With the latest reminder of the Brazilian's incredible talent, does become more difficult to protect him?
"No, to be honest, because if he doesn't play, Pedro Neto plays wide in his position, and Pedro is good, and we are happy with Pedro," Maresca said. "We just try to defend the game plan, we use 11 players.
"Tonight we decided, probably in the most difficult game of the season, we decided to play with Estevao. So I'm not a manager that I don't allow players to play minutes. It's just the game plan. The game plan always decides the first XI. It's the reason why we change so much, and you say that we are unpredictable, but it's the game plan. The game plan defines the first XI.
"Now, the next one is Arsenal. The game plan is not always good, sometimes it's also wrong. It defines the first XI. And Estevao, when the game plan is for him, he's going to play. And for sure he's going to play many games because he is very good."
Chelsea paid around £29million for Estevao to arrive at the club in the summer. Now, CIES Football Observatory has the Brazilian valued at an astonishing £104million. That in itself speaks volumes about how exceptional Estevao has been this season.
Of course, Estevao takes the credit for his start, but Maresca has to take some as well. The Italian has not thrown the winger in too quickly, but equally he has unleashed him at the right times.
The Brazil international was not used at all at Burnley over the weekend, though he was very close to getting a run out for the final few minutes. Estevao was dying to play some football and by the time he took to the Stamford Bridge grass on Tuesday night, it was almost like he had a point to prove. Of course, he didn't, Chelsea supporters have such a strong adoration for him already that his performance ultimately wouldn't have mattered to them either way.
On a night where it was built up to be the battle of two of football's brightest teenage stars in Estevao and Lamine Yamal, there was one clear winner. Yamal was taken off on 80 minutes, shaking his head in frustration, while Estevao was brought off not too long after to one of the loudest standing ovations you are likely to hear at Stamford Bridge.
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