The last time Chelsea beat Liverpool, Estevao was the talk of the Premier League. The Brazilian was still in his first couple of months at Stamford Bridge when his name hit the headlines after he scored the winner against the Premier League champions with practically the final kick of the match last October. Fast forward 12 months, and Estevao is beginning to attract attention for all the wrong reasons as he struggles to force his way into Xabi Alonso's side.
The 19-year-old, who joined Chelsea from Palmeiras last summer, was conspicuous by his absence on Wednesday night as Chelsea were knocked out of the Carabao Cup following a penalty shootout loss to Liverpool at Anfield. The Blues had taken the lead in the first half through Morgan Rogers, but they failed to kick on after Cody Gakpo quickly restored parity for the hosts. Most concerning for Estevao, though, was that as both teams pushed for a winner in the second half, Alonso never appeared to consider the forward.
The clearest indication of just how low Estevao sits in Alonso's pecking order came midway through the second half, when Alonso made a triple substitution in an attempt to turn the game in his side's favour. One of the three changes was Emanuel Emegha, who had yet to feature for the Blues since his summer move from Strasbourg. Just moments after that triple change, which brought Chelsea's total number of substitutions to five, Estevao could be seen ending his warm-up and retreating to the bench.
It was another night of no action for the Brazilian. Liverpool overcome Chelsea in tense penalty shootout 'Stutter' penalty back in the spotlight after Barco miss costs Chelsea Sadly for Estevao, Wednesday night's situation at Anfield was nothing new for him. The Brazilian has failed to make the starting XI in any of the eight Premier League matches since Alonso took charge of the Blues in the summer.
His total minutes for the campaign so far stand at an underwhelming 172, with 125 of those coming in the victories over Luton Town and Leeds United in the earlier rounds of the EFL Cup. Yet even in the thrilling 6-3 win against Daniel Farke's side, which remains one of only two games he has started this campaign, he was withdrawn at half-time with Chelsea trailing 1-0. After the fourth-round defeat by Liverpool, Alonso defended his decision not to play Estevao, hinting that the forward is still coming to grips with the physical demands of English football.
"We started with Pedro [Neto], Morgan [Rogers] and Danny Welbeck, and the game had very intense moments," said Alonso. "We knew it was going to be physical, and Malo [Gusto] had cramps, so we were a bit forced with substitutions. The season is going to be very long, and there will be moments for everyone." When asked directly about the Brazilian, Alonso added: "He could be happier.
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