On his eagerly anticipated Chelsea debut, Brazilian teenager Estevao opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing into an empty net from Cole Palmer’s lobbed effort.
Substitute Joao Pedro sealed the win in added time as he finished from Genesis Antwi’s cut-back to cap a routine victory for the Blues.
Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to take on AC Milan.
Standard Sport’s Sam Tabuteau analyses the Blues’ performance…
Young Brazilian talents can seem to be a dime a dozen, but Estevao looks to be a cut above.
The 18-year-old looked right at home on his first Chelsea start, driving with pace and purpose at the heart of the Leverkusen defence from the first whistle.
Winning start: Estevao fired the Blues to victory on debut
Getty Images
Despite his meagre years, the youngster looks primed to take the Premier League by storm after an assured display in which he played across the front line.
The greatest compliment you could pay Estevao’s performance was the fact that Palmer, a man who at times looked burdened by carrying the creative responsibility for Chelsea last season, looked for the former Palmeiras man at every opportunity.
Chelsea have an abundance of attacking talent at their disposal, but Estevao will doubtless be one of the first names on the teamsheet next season.
Josh Acheampong could offer solution to Colwill’s injury
Levi Colwill is set for an extended period on the sidelines after having surgery on an ACL injury this week.
The £37million arrival of 19-year-old Jorrel Hato should help alleviate some of the strain, but the Dutch defender has been brought in predominantly to play full-back.
Even with Hato, who made his debut as a half-time substitute at left-back against Leverkusen, coming in, Chelsea remain short in defence, with Wesley Fofana still working his way back to fitness.
It means Josh Acheampong, who started at centre-back against Leverkusen, could be asked to step up in the early weeks of what promises to be an exciting season, with Chelsea tipped for a title push.
The young defender, who traditionally plays as a full-back, looked assured at the heart of defence, turning away from pressure and picking passes while maintaining his composure defensively in what was a rather heated contest early on.
Acheampong was promoted to the first team last season, making 19 appearances in all competitions. However, given Chelsea’s propensity for new signings, a productive debut campaign by no means offers assurances for the Cobham graduate.
Colwill’s injury, though, has potentially opened another avenue for minutes for Acheampong. Based on tonight’s performance, he looks capable of grabbing the opportunity with both hands.
Chelsea show no signs of fatigue after Club World Cup exploits
Chelsea have had just a few weeks off since beating PSG in the Club World Cup final, but they looked assured in beating Leverkusen tonight.
The ever-reliable Moises Caicedo has lunged from one tackle to the next for the past twelve months without so much as a moment to catch his breath, but even he looked full of running on an evening where Chelsea dominated in front of their own fans.
The size of the Blues’ squad means they are better equipped than most to deal with the constantly expanding fixture list.
So, even as the game hit a bit of a lull in the second-half, Enzo Maresca was able to inject fresh impetus from the bench.
Pedro, who replaced fellow summer signing Liam Delap, sealed the win in added time, finishing coolly from Cobham graduate Antwi’s cut-back.
Dario Essugo, meanwhile, provided energy in place of Caicedo, impressing in a sweeper role at the heart of midfield.
Chelsea have already suffered the consequences of a gruelling campaign in losing Colwill to an ACL injury this week, but they will have plenty of answers to the inevitable problems the congested schedule will throw at them.
