Casemiro issues warning over Estevao as Chelsea star shines for Brazil

Estevao scored twice in Brazil’s 5-0 win against South Korea on Friday (Reuters)

Casemiro has warned Brazil not to put pressure on Chelsea midfielder Estevao after his latest impressive display for the national side.

The 18-year-old scored twice as Brazil ran out 5-0 winners in their friendly against South Korea on Friday.

Estevao completed his £29 million move from Palmeiras to Chelsea in the summer and has made an immediate impact with Enzo Maresca ’s side.

The midfielder is now in strong contention to secure a place in Brazil’s squad for their World Cup campaign next year.

But Manchester United midfielder Casemiro, who is aiming to represent Brazil at a World Cup for the third time in his career, is keen to play down the hype surrounding Estevao.

‘He’s a young player, we can’t put too much pressure on him,’ Casemiro said after Brazil’s win against South Korea.

Casemiro has urged Brazil to be ‘calm’ about Estevao’s potential (Getty)

‘It’s very important to say this, even with him, we have to emphasise this. Because we know of countless players who, if you put pressure on them, their performance drops.

‘He plays for Chelsea, he’s a starter for Chelsea, in the most competitive league in the world, but we have to take it slow, calmly.

‘It’s already clear he’s a great player, that was already evident at Palmeiras. But we’ll take it slow with him so as not to rush the football process.’

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti was reluctant to single out individuals with Estevao, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr and Matheus Cunha all impressing in Brazil’s attack.

‘I think we played very well with and without the ball,’ Ancelotti said.

‘The team’s commitment was very good. When a team is committed to the game, the quality shines through. The game showed very good individual quality.

‘It’s a team game. We obviously had a strong foundation, a solid defence, and with that, the quality up front shines through.

‘ Rodrygo had a great game, Estevao, Vinicius… the team has a lot of variety, a lot of attacking solutions. Today we saw the individual quality of the players.’