Chelsea boss Maresca discusses comparisons between Willian Estevao and Lamine Yamal

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has ordered Willian Estevao to ignore comparisons with Lamine Yamal and focus on his own development.

The two 18-year-olds will clash tomorrow when Barcelona visit Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, offering a close-up look at arguably the best two youngsters in world football.

Parallels have inevitably been drawn between the pair but Maresca is only interested in Estevao and his progression following a move from Palmeiras over the summer.

“He is going to be an important player for sure for this club, no doubt,” Maresca said. “The most important thing for Estevao is that he has to enjoy fully, he has to be happy, and not think about being better than this player or another player, but only think about himself and try to be a better than himself day by day, try to work hard, improve and for sure he is going to be a top player for this club.

“He is already playing at a high level, starting already with Brazil. For sure, he is very young, he can do many things better, but we are very happy with him. Now, for me, it’s more or less the same thing I said about Pedri, it is nice for people who love football to watch players like Estevao, Lamine Yamal, Pedri – this is the beauty of football. We are happy Estevao is with us and for sure he is going to do well.”

You always learn from Barca – Maresca

Chelsea and Barca have identical records in the league phase having taken seven points from their opening four games.

The Catalans have yet to really click this season but turned in an excellent performance on Saturday, celebrating their return to Camp Nou with a 4-0 demolition of 10-man Athletic Bilbao.

“They’re playing in an amazing way; you always learn from Barca,” said Maresca. “The way they attack, the way they defend, they won the league last season. So they are a good team and they always have the initiative and we will try to do the same on our side.”

The last time Chelsea faced a member of the European elite in this competition was on matchday one when they were beaten 3-1 by Bayern Munich.

“I think we are a better team since the day we played Bayern away, but every game is different,” added the Italian. “For me, personally, the team is getting better day after day.”