Chelsea wonderkid Estevao eclipses Ronaldo and Messi with Barcelona heroics

The Brazil youngster has settled well at Chelsea and continues to make headlines since his summer move, as underlined by his performance against Catalan giants Barcelona.

Estevao has continued to impress at Chelsea since arriving from Palmeiras this summer. The winger was once again in the spotlight during Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League win over Barcelona and did it in style – setting a record that saw him surpass Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The 18-year-old already has five goals to his name, three of which came in successive European games. He stole the show against Lamine Yamal’s and Co., grabbing a stunning solo goal in the second half after being set up by captain Reece James.

Estevao became only the third teenager to score in each of his first three Champions League starts – after Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. According to Opta – via TNT Sports – he has surpassed Ronaldo and Messi in front of goal at the same stage of their careers, scoring five times and producing one assist in just 740 minutes on the pitch.

READ MORE: Chelsea star aims brutal Premier League dig at Barcelona’s Lamine YamalREAD MORE: Thierry Henry pays Estevao huge compliment with Man Utd comparison after Chelsea masterclass

Five‑time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo managed just one single goal and one assist in his first 17 Manchester United appearances, despite totting-up 972 minutes. Meanwhile, Argentina icon Messi scored twice, and assisted once, in 602 minutes overall.

Estevao has already even shown greater composure in front of goal than France international captain Mbappe, who scored just once in 556 minutes, when he first broke through with AS Monaco. By comparison, Barcelona’s Yamal managed only two goal contributions in a similar number of games and (784) minutes to Estevao.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has already backed the Brazilian to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo and Messi. However, that prediction came with a warning.

“As Raphinha said, probably in the next ten, 15 years, Estevao and Lamine Yamal are probably going to be the next Messi and Ronaldo,” he told BeIn Sports after full-time.

“But for both, they are 18. They need to enjoy it, to try to improve every day.

“This is the most important thing for them.” However, he also warned of the damage comparisons with two of the greatest footballers could cause.

“Him and Lamine are such young boys at 18. If you start to talk about Ronaldo and Messi, that’s too much pressure for young boys like them,” he added.

“They need to arrive at the training ground happy for sessions. But, when you start to compare them to those two, it could be too much for them.”

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