There is no doubt that the success story of Chelsea's season so far has been the brilliance of 18-year old Brazilian wonderkid Estevao. The teenager joined from Palmeiras with plenty of hype around his name, and he has more than lived up to it so far. 

Truth be told, not a huge amount of people would have been watching his games in Brazil. So when the winger came up against Chelsea in what proved to be his final game for Palmeiras, at the Club World Cup, many fans were getting to watch him for the very first time. 

He did not disappoint. Although The Blues came out as 2-1 victors, Estevao scored with a powerful right footed shot from an angle - not the last time we would come to see that from him. 

In his first game for the club - a friendly at home to Bayer Leverkusen - he was able to find the net. After a 36 minute cameo in his competitive debut, at home to Crystal Palace, he was trusted to start in the next game - away to West Ham United. 

Immediately, Estevao had repaid that trust, as he assisted fellow South American Enzo Fernandez to make it 3-1 during the first half. In the first international break of the season, he scored his first goal for the Brazil national team, in a World Cup qualifier at home to Chile. 

Between then and the next break, he found himself coming off the bench quite a lot, and was not having quite the same impact. However, in the final game before the October internationals - Estevao got his big "lift off" moment. 

Having come on with a quarter of an hour to go in an intense game at home to Liverpool, the teenage sensation curled in a sublime cross for Fernandez, who could only hit the post from point blank range. 

That was not the moment, however. Oh no, indeed not. As the game entered stoppage time, Estevao showed maturity beyond his years to make a superb run to the back post and slide in a Marc Cucurella cross to give Maresca's side all three points. 

Since then, he scored against Ajax, Wolves and Qarabag, before then netting in both of Brazil's friendlies during the November international break. After some rest against Burnley, he scored with another sublime right footed finish against Barcelona on Tuesday evening. 

There has been a trend with some of Estevao's goals. He is scoring in games that he starts, quite frequently. However - interestingly - when he does find the net, it comes having not started the previous game. 

So far, Estevao has scored in five games for Chelsea so far. In all five of those, he had not started the previous game. This perhaps suggests that Maresca is using him correctly. Not too much too soon. He is trying to manage his minutes very carefully. 

Coming to a new league, in a new country and continent, with a new language is not easy. Some have criticised the manager for starting Pedro Neto in his place, but is clear he is managing expectations and the player's minutes. 

Heading into the World Cup, there are big expectations of the 18-year old. With Neymar out of the picture, and the likes of Vinicius underperforming, Chelsea's wonderkid is seen as the poster boy of this Brazil side. The fact he was the player with the responsibility to take a penalty in their clash with Tunisia shows how highly regarded he is. 

Imagine that. 18-years old, and a country with a population of over 200 million people are resting their hopes on your shoulders. Estevao has been dubbed as the biggest Brazilian prospect since Neymar. With all the pressure and hype, it is important that he has a manager who keeps him in check. 

Fortunately, that is exactly what Maresca is doing. We will likely see - barring any injuries - Estevao's minutes continue to rise and rise throughout the season. For now, the manager is taking care of his situation perfectly - allowing the fans and those associated with the club to enjoy the benefits of that and watch his magic on the pitch.