Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca praised Brazilian teen Estêvão after he overcame an early error to make a highly impressive full debut in Friday's 5-1 win over West Ham United.
Estêvão was a late replacement in the starting lineup after Cole Palmer withdrew minutes before kickoff having felt discomfort in his groin during the warmup. It was his first Premier League start after coming on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace last weekend.
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The winger assisted his team's third goal as they swept past a beleaguered West Ham, receiving a delicate flick from Liam Delap before racing down the right and crossing for Enzo Fernández who tapped home. At 18 years, 120 days, he became the youngest player in Chelsea history to assist a goal in the Premier League.
The display was especially impressive in that it came after he had needlessly given the ball away to gift West Ham's Lucas Paquetá a goal after five minutes.
"We conceded the goal because of him," Maresca said. "He lost the ball in the buildup. He needs to make mistakes to learn. But overall, the performance was very good.
"[His reaction] shows how good he is. It's the reason why he's here with us."
Estêvão, who played for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup over the summer, came over from Brazil with a strong reputation and he backed it up against West Ham.
"Estêvão played an amazing game," Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella said. "He's young but he showed that he's very mature."
Estêvão wasn't the only Brazilian summer signing to impress. João Pedro, who joined from Brighton, headed his first league goal for the club to equalise Paqueta's early effort.
Pedro Neto then volleyed Chelsea in front and, after Fernández had made it three before the break, Moisés Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah each netted in the second half.
"Very happy, very impressed, especially because we didn't start in the right way," Maresca said. "Cole's injury, conceding the goal after five minutes. But the reaction was very good."
After two heavy defeats to start the season, there were boos at halftime and fulltime for West Ham and manager Graham Potter, who coached Chelsea for seven months during the 2022-23 season before getting fired, received some abuse from fans as he walked down the tunnel.
"I've got to do better, we've got to be better," Potter said. "I've got to take responsibility."
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen said he was "fuming" about the performance as much as the result and said it's the "basic football I don't think we're doing well enough."
"Everyone has to look in the mirror and be brutally honest," Bowen added.
Information from PA and The Associated Press was used in this report.