It was billed because the battle of the 2 teenage wonderkids – however for as soon as it was Lamine Yamal who discovered himself overshadowed, solid apart from the highlight.
This was Estevao Willian’s night time.
With Chelsea already 1-0 up and Barcelona right down to 10 males, the 18-year-old produced a really memorable second to gentle up an already raucous Stamford Bridge.
Gathering a cross from Reece James, Estevao minimize inside, turned Alejandro Balde inside out after which despatched a rasping drive into the roof of the web previous goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
As former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin put it: “Begin believing the hype.”
“The aim’s the bit everybody will see, and it was great in quite a few methods,” Nevin stated on BBC Radio 5 Dwell after the 3-0 victory. “It was simply so tight, the footwork, and it is a good, good end.
“However all the opposite elements of his recreation, the intelligence, the motion, the selecting up of place… he is a pure. As a result of often footballers are referred to as pure and so they’re not – but it surely simply seems to be so easy for him. Some gamers simply transfer in a different way to different gamers, a grace and magnificence. It is lovely to see.”
Talking on Amazon Prime, ex-Chelsea ahead Daniel Sturridge added: “The anticipation and expectation was that it was going to be Yamal’s night time and it might be all about him. However you see Estavao tonight and it was completely good.”
Yamal’s night got here to an finish within the eightieth minute, substituted to jeers with the match already misplaced.
Simply two minutes and 40 seconds later, Estevao departed to a standing ovation.
