Catch him if you can, but as Crystal Palace and Tyrick Mitchell discovered here, it can take some doing to stop ‘Super Steve’.
That may not sound the sexiest name for a superhero, but in Estevao, Chelsea do possess a player with special powers.
He is their 18-year-old Brazilian who they have tried to hold back for his own good since arriving in England, but who continues to embrace the expectations heaped upon him.
Here at Selhurst Park, he was at his unleashed best with his goal which opened the scoring after 34 minutes worth breaking down in its entirety.
It started with Chelsea heading clear a Palace set-piece and Enzo Fernandez ensuring the ball did not go out of play to avoid another long throw-in routine. While doing so, Fernandez pressed Jaydee Canvot, who had possession but not the foggiest idea what to do with it.
Canvot figured going all the way backwards was his best bet. However, Estevao had sensed what was coming. He started sprinting from deep inside his own half to intercept that pass. He had 60 yards to run with Mitchell as his shadow, maybe more.
Chelsea cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday
Chelsea wonderkid Estevao broke the deadlock with a smart finish inside the first half
Joao Pedro doubled Chelsea’s lead five minutes into the second half at Selhurst Park
Estevao used his body brilliantly to stop Mitchell from ever being able to stick in a boot. His dash towards the left of Palace’s box pulled Dean Henderson to one side, opening up space on the other. His choice of finish was almost a dig with backspin to lift the ball.
With that, Chelsea led 1-0, and their second goal in the 50th minute came after Estevao’s cushioned ball in behind, though Trevoh Chalobah deserves credit also.
The move started with Chalobah dispossessing Jean-Philippe Mateta before playing a direct pass into the feet of Joao Pedro. Chelsea’s striker held it up, spread play to Estevao, received the ball back, chopped inside and beat Henderson.
Liam Rosenior will resist the calls to continually start Estevao, despite Chelsea supporters wanting to see much more of him. ‘With an 18-year-old with a talent like his, you have to manage his minutes,’ Rosenior told us afterwards. ‘You have to manage the games that you think are the right moments for him to have an impact. I’ll keep doing that because I want him to have an outstanding season and an outstanding career as well.’
VAR sparks confusion
Good luck finding optimism around Selhurst. They have lost Marc Guehi. They may lose Mateta this month. They will lose Oliver Glasner once this season is over. They are now winless in the eight Premier League games, and nervous that the relegation candidates are picking up points.
While falling 3-0 down here, Palace supporters started singing: ‘It’s not football anymore.’ They were not directing those chants at their team’s disappointing performance, but rather VAR.
Chelsea’s third goal came from the penalty spot. Canvot had stopped Joao Pedro from scoring using his arm. Referee Darren England studied the incident at his pitch-side monitor and after a few viewings, he came to his conclusion and readied his stadium announcement.
‘It is an accidental handball, not deliberate,’ England began, which prompted a few Palace fans to start prematurely celebrating. However, England then continued: ‘It is an accidental handball, therefore it is a penalty, but because it is accidental, it is only a yellow card.’
Enzo Fernandez converted from the spot in the 64th minute to put the game beyond doubt
Chris Richards pulled back a consolation goal for Crystal Palace, heading in from close range
Minutes managed
By the letter of the law, it would appear England was right. It was a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity by Canvot, even if a non-deliberate handball, though the referee did not make many friends out of Palace fans here.
He also did not show a second yellow to Moises Caicedo when he fouled while on a caution but did dismiss Adam Wharton, booking him twice in five second-half minutes.
This came 24 hours after England acted as VAR in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Wolves, after which Pep Guardiola said his side won ‘despite’ the officials.
The way this clash unfolded for Chelsea, they were able to save the legs of several stars before their big trip to Napoli this week, and that was ideal.
Moises Caicedo, Estevao and Pedro Neto were removed before the 75th minute, while Reece James lasted 81 and Joao Pedro 85. As for Cole Palmer, since Rosenior became Chelsea head coach, he has got to use his playmaker only once: in their Premier League win over Brentford.
But this was the fourth game under Rosenior in which Palmer was missing from the match-day squad. Sources told Daily Mail Sport this trip came a day too early after a minor thigh injury, that it was not an issue with his groin, and he should be good to go for their Champions League showdown with Napoli on Wednesday.
