Chelsea 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen: Estevao Willian scores on Blues debut before Joao Pedro nets in pre-season friendly

Estevao Willian scored on his debut before Joao Pedro staked his claim for the starting striker spot with a late second as Chelsea beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in their first pre-season friendly.

Estevao, the 18-year-old Brazilian winger who signed from Palmeiras for £29m, proved why he is so highly rated, keeping his cool to volley in a close-range opener in the 18th minute before dazzling with his quick feet and lightning pace on the right flank and later through the middle.

Liam Delap started up front for Chelsea with fellow striker Nicolas Jackson not in the squad after telling the club he wants to explore his transfer options this summer, but the summer signing had only 13 touches in an underwhelming performance.

His night was compounded when Joao Pedro replaced him midway through the second half and wrapped up the victory with a clinical finish late on.

How Chelsea lined up... Chelsea: Jorgensen; Gusto (James, 65), Chalobah (Tosin, 45), Acheampong (Anselmino, 76), Cucurella (Hato, 45); Caicedo (Essugo, 45), Santos (Rak-Sakyi, 76); Estevao (Antwi, 77), Palmer (Neto, 45), George (Gittens, 64); Delap (Joao Pedro, 64).

Unused subs: Sanchez, Slonina, Fernandez.

Image: Chelsea striker Liam Delap only had 13 touches against Bayer Leverkusen

Estevao epitomised the freshness Chelsea managed to play with, showing no sign of a Club World Cup hangover despite finishing last season just 26 days before this fixture.

They had only returned to training on Monday, yet looked sharper than Erik ten Hag's Bayer Leverkusen and dominated their visitors, who began pre-season on July 7 and had already played four matches this summer.

Enzo Maresca's side picked up from where they left off with their flowing football that had dismantled Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final.

Estevao impressed straight away, hugging the right touchline, before turning in after Cole Palmer's lob had come back off the crossbar.

Image: Cole Palmer linked up nicely with Chelsea youngster Estevao

Delap was then denied by Leverkusen's Mark Flekken, having side-footed an earlier chance straight at the former Brentford goalkeeper.

Delap's performance was the only negative for the Blues on the night when they were fortunate to escape a serious injury to Palmer as former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah caught his left leg with a reckless sliding tackle from behind.

Palmer was already linking nicely with Estevao, who was denied a second late in the first half by a good save from Flekken.

Chelsea fans also saw their latest signing Jorell Hato in action when he came on at half-time to replace Marc Cucurella at left-back. The £38.5m signing from Ajax looked assured on the ball and fired a shot wide late on.

Josh Acheampong auditioned at centre-back in a bid to replace the injured Levi Colwill, but he was bailed out after falling over the ball by substitute Tosin, who made a crucial block to prevent a Leverkusen equaliser.

Image: Joao Pedro scored for Chelsea against Bayer Leverkusen on his first appearance at Stamford Bridge

Jamie Gittens was another winger and new signing who shone, coming off the bench in the second half and setting up Estevao at the end of a direct dribble.

Joao Pedro, though, had the final say, burying a shot into the bottom left corner with the last kick of the match.

Chelsea face AC Milan on Sunday in another friendly before hosting Crystal Palace in their Premier League opener on Sunday August 17, live on Sky Sports.

Maresca: Estevao is fantastic

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca speaking to Channel 5:

"Very happy with the performance, especially after three or four days of training. It is good to start again.

"We have another game Sunday and then it is the official game. We have started like we did not finish."

On the debut of Estevao: "He is very young. He needs to play and for sure, he is going to help. He is a fantastic player."

On keeping the entire squad happy: "Not all of them will be happy always. They have to understand they are all good. There will be many rotations."

On Levi Colwill's injury: "It is a priority for me, yes. Levi is a fantastic player; what we achieved last season was because of him.

"He played all games and I love him. We are going to miss him. We are trying to find different solutions. We will see [signing a defender]."

Debuts do not get much better than Estevao's.

Anticipation and excitement for the 18-year-old talent was already high heading into this fixture, but he exceeded all expectations in his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt.

From minute one, Estevao dazzled with his ability on the ball and confidence when driving at defenders.

A natural chemistry with star-man Palmer was clear to see from kick-off and it eventually paid dividends when the Brazil international swept home the opener.

Carving a way into this Chelsea starting line-up is not an easy task, but this performance will have put the young winger firmly in contention for a starting role against Crystal Palace in the Blues' Premier League opener.

Patrick Rowe

Image: Joao Pedro scored for Chelsea during the 2-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen in pre-season

Liam Delap's bid to become Chelsea's first-choice striker had started well before the night had begun with the news of Jackson's absence, but it ended with him on the back foot.

Delap would have been buoyed by being handed his first start at Stamford Bridge, yet after 15 minutes, he had just one touch.

With his second, he sent a shot straight at Flekken, who then made his best save, spreading himself to deny Delap's poked effort at goal.

Delap's movement in behind, to latch onto Tyrique George's curling cross, was faultless, but he had to score. Two shots, both on target, both big chances missed.

Joao Pedro then showed him how to do it. He composed himself in the area before clinically sending an effort into the bottom left corner to give himself the advantage. The battle recommences on Sunday.

David Richardson

Image: Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games this season

From this season, Sky Sports' Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season are on Sky Sports.

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