Estevao Willian made his first start in the Premier League this season in Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Manchester United.

Estevao has barely played under Xabi Alonso, but his manager gave him a chance on Saturday and was rewarded for it. The winger did not score but had an excellent game.

After the match, Alonso hailed Estevao’s performance, stating that the 19-year-old played very well. It now gives Estevao something to build on, with the Brazilian and Chelsea facing Sunderland next.

After how he played against United, supporters will be expecting to see Estevao retain his place in Alonso’s starting XI.

Estevao Willian and Xabi Alonso hugged before his goal was disallowed

Estevao did not officially get his name on the scoresheet, but he did find the back of the net twice, only for both of his strikes to be disallowed. There was one wholesome moment the Brazil international and Alonso shared after his second was chalked off, though.

As shared by Daily Mail journalist Kieran Gill on X, Estevao went over to the touchline to hug his manager after thinking he had put Chelsea 3-0 up. A lot has been said about Estevao and Alonso’s relationship, but there seems to be no bad blood between them.

Alonso’s decision to leave Estevao out of the team in previous games appears to have been tactical and based on the fact that he already has Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro. However, Pedro has missed another game because of injury, which paved the way for Estevao to earn his first Premier League start of the season.

Alonso moved Neto into the centre-forward position, which allowed Estevao to come into the team on the right. There, the youngster did not disappoint.

On the day, Estevao registered three key passes and completed two accurate crosses, according to Sofascore. He proved to be a real creative outlet for Alonso’s side.

Palmer hopes to see more of the same from Estevao going forward, but it hinges on whether Alonso is prepared to keep him in the team or not.