Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has showered praises on his players following their impressive 2-1 win over Palmeiras to qualify for the semi-finals of the Club World Cup on Saturday.
Cole Palmer opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 16th minute before Estevao Willian, who is set to join the Blues equalised for Palmeiras in the second half.
The 18-year-old recorded the most touches in Chelsea’s box for his side (8), and was named man of the match for his display.
Malo Gusto’s cross deflected off Giay Agustin and into his own goal in the 81st minute to seal the victory, booking Chelsea’s place in the last four.
Maresca hailed the team’s performance especially in the first half of the encounter.
He said: “Personally, I think in the first half we were in control of the game. We didn’t concede anything.
“We scored the goal and we could have scored some more goals and then they were better than us and they scored.
“The game changed a bit, the dynamic changed, but then I think in the last 20 to 25 minutes we were in control again and I think we deserved to win the game without being lucky.”
Estevao impressed against his future employers to the excitement of Maresca.
He said: “Happy because we won and also happy because Estevao scored, the perfect night.
“He is very good, a huge talent, and a fantastic player. The only thing is when you come from South America or another part of the world is that you need to adapt.
“We are going to help him to adapt, be happy and enjoy football. We have no doubt he will be an important player for Chelsea.”
Maresca also opened up on the reason behind starting Pedro Neto, who is a close friend of Diogo Jota, who died on Thursday in a car accident.
He said: “We spoke with Pedro yesterday, this morning and this afternoon and it was completely his personal decision whether to play or not to play.
“He made a fantastic effort to play this game, to be with his team-mates, and we really appreciate what he has done.
“I just said to the players that this win is especially for him because we know how close he was [with Jota] and the effort that he has done.
“So no doubt that we really appreciate what he decided in the end.”
Chelsea will take on another Brazilian side Fluminense on Tuesday in the semi-final at the Met Life Stadium at 8 pm Nigerian time.
