Liam Rosenior says £29m star has been ‘outstanding’ since he joined Chelsea | Football

Liam Rosenior says Estevao Willian has been ‘outstanding each time he’s been on the pitch’ since taking on at Chelsea.

Estevao’s superb opener paved the best way for Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Fellow summer signing Joao Pedro was also on track 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 brand new Blues boss was reluctant to single out Estevao – insisting he was ‘so completely satisfied with the entire team’ – but insisted the Brazilian has been ‘outstanding’ since he arrived at Stamford Bridge.

Estevao was already being hailed as one of the exciting young players on this planet before joining Chelsea and has enjoyed an excellent begin to his Premier League profession.

Asked about 18-year-old Estevao, Rosenior said: ‘He’s a player with special abilities, special talent. He’s been sick, and each time he’s been on the pitch thus far with me, I feel he’s been outstanding.

‘But I feel in the event you watch that goal, what makes me so completely satisfied is all 11 men are back behind the ball. That’s why he gets the space.

‘I don’t need to talk an excessive amount of about individuals. I believed it was a top team performance away from home, from Joao Pedro pressing, Pedro Neto and Estevao from the front, the 2 midfield players, Andrey Santos tactically, after which the defenders needed to defend really, rather well.

‘So yeah, Estevao, so completely satisfied with him, but so completely satisfied with the entire team.’

Asked how he intends to guard the highly-promising but young Estevao, Rosenior added: ‘Firstly, off the pitch, I do know his family are here with him.

‘I do 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.

‘When it comes to on the pitch, with an 18-year-old with a talent like his, you might have to administer his minutes.

‘You will have to administer the games that you think that are the precise moments for him to have an effect and I’ll keep doing that because I need him to have an excellent season.

‘I need him to have an excellent profession as well.’

Rosenior has now won 4 of his first five games in control of Chelsea, with the one 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. ‘That is at all times a really difficult place to return.

‘Crystal Palace are a superb team. I felt when it comes to the sport plan, the organisation, what the players gave for the last two days was outstanding.

‘Frustrating to not have a clean sheet within the last 10 minutes and we are going to work on that but quite a lot of really pleasing signs.’

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