Chelsea boss Rosenior praises 'special talent' Estevao after win over Palace

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior hailed the performance of 18-year-old Estevao, who scored their first goal and set up another for Joao Pedro in Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace.

Estevao scored his first goal since November in the 34th minute, running from his own half to seize a back pass from Jaydee Canvot. The Brazilian then provided the assist for compatriot Pedro to put Chelsea 2-0 up early in the second half.

“He’s a player with special abilities, special talent,” Rosenior said about Estevao.

“What makes me so happy is all 11 men are back behind the ball. That’s why he gets the space… I thought it was a top team performance away from home.”

Rosenior, who took charge earlier this month, said Chelsea passed “a huge test” as they earned their third straight win in all competitions, with Enzo Fernandez scoring their third goal from the penalty spot in the 64th minute.

But the manager warned that the Chelsea defence needed time to improve after 10-man Palace struck late on through Chris Richards.

“It’s a game of mistakes. It’s going to take time… our understanding of the build will improve with the repetition but like I say, we want to improve but we want to win now and then that has to be the focus on Wednesday,” Rosenior said.

Chelsea have now won four of their five matches under Rosenior, and the visiting fans celebrated the new manager’s effort by singing his name after Sunday’s win.

Rosenior said he knew he needed to earn the fans’ respect, and his focus remained on Wednesday’s trip to Napoli and the battle to remain in the Champions League’s top eight for a direct qualification for the round of 16.

“This team played great football before me… it’s not about it being my team, a Liam Rosenior team. It’s about being a winning team and I was really, really happy with the performance today,” he added.