Liam Rosenior says Estevao Willian has been ‘outstanding every time he’s been on the pitch’ since taking over at Chelsea.
Estevao’s superb opener paved the way for Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Fellow summer signing Joao Pedro was also on target at Selhurst Park, while Enzo Fernandez added Chelsea’s third before a consolation goal from Palace defender Chris Richards.
A deserved win sent Chelsea above Liverpool and into the top-four before Manchester United’s clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, described Chelsea’s victory in south London as ‘very pleasing’.
The new Blues boss was reluctant to single out Estevao – insisting he was ‘so happy with the whole team’ – but insisted the Brazilian has been ‘outstanding’ since he arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Estevao was already being hailed as one of the most exciting young players in the world before joining Chelsea and has enjoyed a superb start to his Premier League career.
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Asked about 18-year-old Estevao, Rosenior said: ‘He’s a player with special abilities, special talent. He’s been ill, and every time he’s been on the pitch so far with me, I think he’s been outstanding.
‘But I feel if you watch that goal, what makes me so happy is all 11 men are back behind the ball. That’s why he gets the space.
‘I don’t want to talk too much about individuals. I thought it was a top team performance away from home, from Joao Pedro pressing, Pedro Neto and Estevao from the front, the two midfield players, Andrey Santos tactically, and then the defenders had to defend really, really well.
‘So yeah, Estevao, so happy with him, but so happy with the whole team.’
Asked how he intends to protect the highly-promising but young Estevao, Rosenior added: ‘Firstly, off the pitch, I know his family are here with him.
‘I know the club have worked really, really hard for him to settle. I also know that Andrey Santos and Joao Pedro have helped him especially settle into this country.
Chelsea's next five fixtures
Napoli vs Chelsea – Wednesday 28th January (Champions League)
Chelsea vs West Ham – Saturday 31st January (Premier League)
Arsenal vs Chelsea – Tuesday 3rd February (Carabao Cup)
Wolves vs Chelsea – Saturday 7th February (Premier League)
Chelsea vs Leeds United – Tuesday 10th February (Premier League)
‘In terms of on the pitch, with an 18-year-old with a talent like his, you have to manage his minutes.
‘You have to manage the games that you think are the right moments for him to have an impact and I’ll keep doing that because I want him to have an outstanding season.
‘I want him to have an outstanding career as well.’
Rosenior has now won four of his first five games in charge of Chelsea, with the only real blip being a Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg defeat to Arsenal.
‘It was very pleasing,’ Rosenior said of Chelsea’s win at Selhurst Park. ‘This is always a very difficult place to come.
‘Crystal Palace are a very good team. I felt in terms of the game plan, the organisation, what the players gave for the last two days was outstanding.
‘Frustrating not to have a clean sheet in the last 10 minutes and we will work on that but a lot of really pleasing signs.’
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