How Estevao’s ‘perfect night’ saw him make history and surpass Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as Chelsea beat Barcelona

He is only the third teenager in history to score in each of his first three Champions League starts after Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

Arriving from Brazil

Estevao first caught the eye after bursting onto the scene with Brazilian side Palmeiras.

He made his debut in December 2023 at the age of 16 before establishing himself as one of South America’s most exciting talents.

Highlights: Estevao lights up Stamford Bridge as Chelsea batter Barcelona

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Before that, though, Blues fans would get a glimpse of what Estevao would bring to their side at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Palmeiras faced Chelsea at the tournament in the USA, and surprise, surprise, the 18-year-old scored against his future club.

Surpassing Messi and Ronaldo

It has been more of the same from Chelsea’s new star since his arrival in England.

The match with Barcelona was Estevao’s 17th appearance for the club, and he has made a sensational start.

According to Opta, he has surpassed Messi and Ronaldo in front of goal at the same stage of their careers, scoring five times and producing one assist in just 740 minutes on the field.

Compare that with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who played 602 minutes in his first 17 appearances for Barcelona.

In that time, Messi scored twice and produced one assist.

The Brazilian has also outperformed Ronaldo since arriving in west London.

The Portuguese legend scored one goal and added one assist in his first 17 games with Manchester United despite playing 972 minutes.

Yamal, Mbappe and Haaland comparisons

Estevao has also been more clinical in front of goal after 17 appearances than Kylian Mbappe, who produced one goal as well as three assists when he burst onto the scene with Monaco.

He also compares favourably to Yamal, who managed two goal contributions in the same number of matches and an incredibly similar amount of minutes.

Erling Haaland and Neymar did manage more goal contributions than Estevao in their first 17 appearances for a team in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, but there are a couple of key conditions to their impressive record.

Haaland hit the ground running with Borussia Dortmund, scoring an astounding 16 goals and adding two assists.

However, he played 1,197 minutes in his first 17 appearances and was already 19 years of age.

Neymar joined Barcelona at the age of 21, so he was much older than his compatriot Estevao, and he also played far more minutes – 1,262.

However, let’s not take away from his remarkable five goals and eight assists in his first 17 appearances with the La Liga club.

'Too much pressure' – Maresca rejects Estevao comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo after Barca goal

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What next for Estevao?

There is no telling what Estevao can achieve after such an impressive start to life in European football.

However, he has clearly shown that he has the same scintillating talent that the greats of the last 20 years had when they first went toe-to-toe with Europe’s elite.

However, the youngster’s manager Enzo Maresca warned against comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo, stating that it is too much pressure for young players like Estevao and Yamal.

“Estevao needs to relax,” said the Chelsea head coach.

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“He needs to enjoy, he needs (training) sessions. He needs to play football.

“Him, Lamine, they are so young, 18, that if you start to talk about Messi, Ronaldo, I think it is too much pressure for young boys like them.

“They need to enjoy, arrive at the training ground, happy, session. When you start to compare with Messi or Ronaldo, I think it is too much for them.”

Estevao added: “It really was the perfect night. (My goal) was such a special moment for me in my career. From the moment I arrived here, I felt such a connection with the fans. I’m just so happy I could score for them and make them happy.”