Estevão celebrates ‘perfect night’ after goal in Chelsea’s win over Barcelona in Champions League
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LONDON (AP) — With his family watching from the stands, Chelsea teenage sensation Estevão made a run through the right side of the area and sped past two Barcelona defenders before firing a powerful angled shot into the net.
The beautiful strike gave Chelsea its second goal in a 3-0 win over the Spanish powerhouse Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
“I don’t really have any words to sum up how I am feeling,” the 18-year-old Brazil forward said. “It was all very quick for me. I found some space and wiggled my way through. I hope I keep scoring for many more years.”
Estevão was a constant threat to the Barcelona defense and helped Chelsea dominate en route to its third win and a spot in the top-eight of the standings.
“It really was the perfect night,” Estevão said. “(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.”
After his goal, Estevão went near the Chelsea fans and pointed to the club’s shield.
“Estevão had a very good game, not only for the goal, but for the way he helped a lot in the way we were pressing,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said.
Liam Delap, Pedro Neto and Marc Cucurella, the man of the match, also played well to lead the English club to victory and fifth place in the standings.
Estevão has quickly established himself as one of Chelsea’s most dangerous weapons and already is a fan favorite since arriving from Brazilian club Palmeiras this summer. Some in Spain have dubbed him as the Brazilian version of Lamine Yamal, the young Barcelona and Spain star who couldn’t do much on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge.
Cucurella joked that Estevão “finally scored on his right foot.”
“In training he always misses with his right, but today, in a big moment, he was able to score. He’s really young and we need to help him, but he showed that he’s a special player,” Cucurella said.
Estevão had scored three goals in his last three matches with club and country. He found the net in Brazil’s friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia in the latest international break.
Barcelona’s woes
It was the second loss in five league-phase matches for Barcelona, and its fourth loss in its last 10 matches across all competitions.
It was the second Champions League match in a row in which it conceded three goals. The Catalan club was coming off a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge, where defensive mistakes also were costly.
“Chelsea was putting us under pressure and we didn’t adjust well,” Barcelona defender Eric García said. “We had to run after the ball the whole time. We need to be more competitive in these types of matches. The duels, second balls… if you don’t make yourself strong, it’s impossible to win.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer