Estevao Willian has described his dramatic last-gasp winning goal for Chelsea against Liverpool as “incredible and indescribable”.
The summer signing from Palmeiras properly announced himself on the Premier League stage on Saturday evening by coming off the bench to turn in Marc Cucurella’s cross and seal a morale-boosting 2-1 victory for Chelsea after Moises Caicedo’s early stunner had been cancelled out by Cody Gakpo.
It was a first Chelsea goal for 18-year-old Estevao, whose eagerly-awaited arrival in west London came amid much fanfare following an exciting reputation established as arguably the most talented Brazilian prospect since Neymar.
It also gave injury-plagued Chelsea a much-needed lift in the Premier League after back-to-back defeats by Manchester United and Brighton, while condemning defending champions Liverpool to their third defeat inside a week across all competitions following their earlier losses to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray.
"I can't describe it,” Estevao told ESPN after his stoppage-time heroics at Stamford Bridge. “The first thing I did was thank God.
"Only God knows how much I fought and worked to be here today, and to make my family proud. I dedicate this goal to God and my family. It's incredible, indescribable.
"I hope it's the first of many to bring much joy to these fans."
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was sent off for his actions that followed Estevao’s winner against Liverpool, sprinting down the touchline to celebrate with his players and receiving a second yellow card from referee Anthony Taylor.
His dismissal meant that, due to Football Association (FA) rules, he was unable to conduct post-match media duties as usual, instead handing over that role to assistant coach Willy Caballero.
And asked if Chelsea had been holding Estevao back in the Premier League so far this season, the former Blues goalkeeper said: “It's not just Estevao. We are doing a great job with many of the players because a lot of them are young.
“And they have to face the opportunity to play from the start, not playing on the bench, on the stands in time.
“So it's something that we know that is there. And we are coaches. And so it's the manager that is the first one.
“But he knows that we need to work on the individualities to help them to improve, not just with the ball, outside as well. So they can have, like today, Estevao, a few minutes, but be ready to arrive there and score.
“So it's something that, thanks to him playing football, we know that a young player can suffer when he moves from another country to settle down here and to play for this club.
“So the players, first of all, are doing a great job to involve all the new players. And when we have the chance, we work.
“I can speak with him most of the time in Spanish because he understands. And he's a really good kid. And we are so happy for him because he needs it, we need it, and he needs a goal as well.”
