It was a tale of two wonderkids as Chelsea drew 2-2 away to Qarabag in the Champions League, with 18-year-old Estevao shining and 19-year-old Jorrel Hato struggling.
Chelsea went 2-1 down after Estevao’s superb opener and had a few Hato mishaps to thank for complicating matters.
Qarabag 2-2 Chelsea: Key statistics
- Jorrel Hato: error led to goal, penalty conceded, last-man tackle
- Estevao: 2 completed dribbles, 1 key pass, 1 goal, 2 shots, 4 successful tackles, 3 fouls committed, 0 times dispossessed
- 2-goal differential separates Chelsea and Qarabag in league phase table
Enzo Maresca’s side haven’t been convincing in the Champions League this season and again disappointed as the Italian head coach rotated heavily to keep his large squad content with playing time.
On the flip side, Maresca could be criticised for taking Qarabag lightly with his seven changes.
With all due respect to Qarabag, anything other than three points for Chelsea here is a disaster, and it complicates automatic qualification for the last 16 ahead of key matches at home to Spanish champions Barcelona and away to Italian champions Napoli.
Alejandro Garnacho’s goal seven minutes after coming on was well taken with his weaker left foot, but Hato’s display, the two dropped points, the overall performance, and another early injury for the perpetually crocked Romeo Lavia are four huge negatives for Chelsea.
A tale of two wonderkids as Chelsea struggle
When Estevao put Chelsea ahead in Azerbaijan, it looked like the vastly superior Blues would go on to win comfortably.
We were ready to wax lyrical about Estevao as Chelsea scored a couple more in the background, but as this team often does, they turned an uneventful night into a difficult one.
Hato was the player who decided to add some unnecessary drama, being at fault for both Qarabag goals in a first-half comeback for the Azerbaijani side.
It was a surprise to see Maresca keep Hato on at half-time, though he did make three changes with his team 2-1 down.
Chelsea come undone and Qarabag have their equaliser 🙌
What a run it was as well 💫
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/xCLseaeCVW
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 5, 2025
They were 2-1 down because of some very poor play from the ex-Ajax starlet. Unable to deal with a ball in behind, Hato came unstuck under pressure and fell to the ground as Qarabag hit the post and scored the rebound. He then gave the ball away in the build-up to a penalty he conceded for handball.
Shaky would understate Hato’s performance. The second period was more comfortable as Chelsea enjoyed more possession, but the teenager wasn’t exactly helped by Tosin Adarabioyo’s display alongside him. It’s not the most convincing defensive pairing.
As Estevao shone at one end of the pitch and continues to live up to the hype, Hato has struggled under Maresca, and there are question marks over where he fits.
The former is clearly a very special player. Hato is one too, but Wednesday’s performance will concern Chelsea fans who hadn’t been entirely convinced by the 19-year-old up to now.
Is he big and commanding enough to play centre-back in a back four? It doesn’t look like it. He seems better suited to a back three or five as the left centre-back or even left-back.
Chelsea complicate quest for Champions League top eight
Looking at the bigger picture, Chelsea actually faced an in-form Champions League side and battled through adversity to rescue a point. Qarabag had won two of their opening three games in the league phase.
That might be used to downplay dropped points, but if Chelsea slip up again in another winnable fixture, such as Atalanta away or Pafos at home, they’ll need to beat either Barcelona or Napoli to finish in the top eight and automatically qualify for the last 16.
The Atalanta and Pafos fixtures aren’t Chelsea’s concern right now. Dissecting a poor performance against Qarabag before preparing for managerless Wolves on Saturday is Maresca’s priority.
It’s another disjointed performance Maresca must analyse and improve. There have already been too many this season, and Chelsea always seem one poor result away from a crisis.
Rock-bottom Wolves at home is the perfect fixture to plunge them into one.
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