It was billed as the battle of two teenage wonder boys, but for once it was Lamine Yamal who found himself overshadowed, removed from the spotlight.
This was Estevao Willian’s night.
With Chelsea already 1-0 up and Barcelona down to 10 men, the 18-year-old produced a truly memorable moment to light up an already noisy Stamford Bridge.
Receiving a pass from Reece James, Estevao cut inside, turned around Alejandro Balde and then sent a rasping shot into the roof of the net past goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
As former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin said: “Start believing the hype.”
“The goal is what everyone will see and it was wonderful in a number of ways,” Nevin said on BBC Radio 5 Live after the 3-0 win. “The footwork was very tight, and it was a brilliant, brilliant finish.
“But all the other parts of his game, the intelligence, the movement, the choice of position… he is natural. Because normally footballers are called natural and they are not, but for him it seems so easy. Some players just move differently than other players, with grace and elegance. It’s beautiful to see.”
Speaking on Amazon Prime, former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge added: “The anticipation and expectation was that it was going to be Yamal’s night and everything was going to revolve around him. But you look at Estavao tonight and he was absolutely brilliant.”
Yamal’s evening came to an end in the 80th minute, replaced by boos with the game already lost.
Just two minutes and 40 seconds later, Estevao departed to a standing ovation.
