Estevao: Goal against Barcelona is the best moment of my career

Estevao Willian says his brilliant goalscoring display for Chelsea in their stunning 3-0 win over Barcelona is the best moment of his career.

Chelsea were already 1-0 up with Barcelona down to 10 men when the 18-year-old collected a pass from Reece James, majestically slipped past Alejandro Balde and then hit a rasping drive into the roof of the net with his supposedly weaker right foot.

It made him only the third teenager to score in each of his first three starts in the UEFA Champions League, after Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

"I don’t really have any words. It was the perfect night," said Estevao, whose family attended the game.

"It was such a special goal in my career for me and I hope to score many more. It was the most special moment of my career.

"I'm just grateful to God for everything that has happened for me. From the moment I arrived here, I felt such a connection with the fans.

"I'm just so happy that I could score for them and make them happy. I hope to keep making them happy and score more goals for them."

Watch Estevao's best Premier League moments for Chelsea

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca lavished praise on his young Brazilian.

"The goal Estevao scored reminded me of the one [Lionel Messi] scored against us in the Club World Cup," Maresca said. "It's very similar, the same action.

"He needs to relax. He needs to enjoy his football, he needs to play football. Him and Lamine [Yamal, of Barcelona] are so young at 18, if you start to talk about Ronaldo and Messi, that's too much pressure for young boys like them.

"They need to arrive at the training ground happy for sessions, but when you start to compare them with those two, it's too much for them."

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin, who made 242 appearances for the Blues, was equally impressed and described Estevao's performance as "beautiful".

"Start believing the hype," said Nevin on BBC Radio 5 Live. "The goal's the bit everyone will see, and it was wonderful in a number of ways. It was just so tight, the footwork, and it's a brilliant, brilliant finish.

"But all the other parts of his game, the intelligence, the movement, the picking-up of position... he's a natural. Because usually footballers are called natural and they're not - but it just looks so effortless for him. Some players just move differently to other players, a grace and elegance. It's beautiful to see."

Chelsea return to Premier League action on Sunday with a huge top-of-the-table clash against leaders Arsenal.

The Blues sit second after winning their last three Premier League matches, and a home win in the London derby would close the gap at the top of the table to just three points.