Chelsea vs Palmeiras Review: Chelsea's Brazilians shine in tense quarterfinal

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When Cole Palmer caressed Trevoh Chalobah’s pass away from Palmeiras’ panicking backline and rolled it calmly into the bottom corner, it was magic familiar to many a Chelsea fan. What happened in the 53rd minute though was wizardry of a different kind. Fervent whispers of it had it been heard from a distant continent for some time now, witnessed the morning after on clips floating around social media.

With one touch Estêvão somehow slowed the ball down and simultaneously exploded forward. One touch with his left and the second with his right without breaking stride took him that crucial yard away from Levi Colwill. By the time Colwill could adjust his feet to block, Estêvão had already unleashed a bolt with his weaker right foot. Sanchez’s glove only felt a hint of the swirling torrent of air the ball left in its wake before cannoning off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net. This was no illusion; Estêvão was indeed, magic.

This was a 3rd Michaelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match award for Estêvão in five games and no one who has watched him closely was surprised. The 18-year-old, Verdão’s gift to the new Brazil, did not look deterred by the prospect of an audition for his future employers in front of the world. There was no holding back on stamp on Colwill. On being harried by the tenacious Marc Cucurella, he held the Spaniard off, dragged him halfway across the pitch and laid off a pass to the opposite wing to create an opening for his side.

At the final whistle, it dawned on everyone in the stadium just how much the world was about to change. Estêvão, misty-eyed, stood in front of the Palmeiras faithful, realization setting in that this was goodbye. Palmer came across to convey his admiration. “I just said we are excited for you to join,” Palmer later revealed he told Estêvão, “but he didn’t understand a single word I said!”

At an emotional post-match presser, his manager Abel Ferreira paid an even more profound tribute. "He's my son, he's my son. I have two daughters but he is my son. I told him the sun doesn't appear as much in England. The night comes early. But for sure, Chelsea have all conditions to help him because he is a fantastic player." Daunting challenges await - a new language, a new culture, a merciless blackhole in which wonderkids have come close to, only to be spit out in a dark distant part of the universe. But if this game was anything to go by - there is little to fear for a boy who breathes so much joy every time the ball kisses his feet.

How do you beat a tough Brazilian side, you ask? Simple, bring a few of your own to the firefight. Enzo Maresca picked Reece James to start in midfield, but a tight hamstring threw another Brazilian into the deep end. It is not what Maresca wanted. After the win against Esperance, he said “in terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment more like Enzo’s position than Moises or Romeo’s position.” With both Lavia, Caicedo & Reece James absence, Santos reprised a role similar to the one he played at Strasbourg last season.

A 3-1 in build up with Andrey as the lone pivot tantalized Palmeiras’ front line into pressing. When they did, he simply glanced over his shoulder before slicing the press with neat, incisive passes to Palmer, Enzo and Gusto between the lines, who could then turn and run at defences. With Enzo given the role Andrey often thrives in, the Brazilian showed his first signs of adapting - relinquishing his more adventurous tendencies to maintain more disciplined positioning. There were five tackles, a win rate of a 100% from his aerial duels and an excellent recovery tackle made after sprinting from near the half-line to the edge of his own box.

With Delap enduring a tough outing, Maresca surprised many by throwing on João Pedro over Nicolas Jackson. The 23-year-old from São Paulo was on vacation when Chelsea came calling, but there were little signs of post-season rust in a sparkling cameo. With Noni Madueke coming on for Nkunku on the left, JP went about weaving together attacks - dropping into the left pocket, popping into the box and creating openings with clever flicks and turns. With Delap suspended for the semifinals after picking up a yellow, João could be in line for an emotional start against Fluminense, at whose academy he spent 8 years in before making his senior debut for them in 2019.

In a game full of magicians though, a Gusto shot deflected past a flailing Weverton proved enough. Chelsea now meet Thiago Silva’s Fluminense in the semifinals, with a chance to make history and earn a more sizable bounty with which to pay off the recent UEFA fine for FFP violations. Not many summed up the game better than Enzo Maresca post game -

We won & Estevao scored, so a good night for all of us.