Astana v Chelsea LIVE: Conference League result as Blues ease to victory
Astana 1-3 Chelsea: Enzo Maresca’s youngsters earn fine win in Kazakhstan
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea secured their place in the Uefa Conference League last-16 with a fine display in Kazakhstan as they defeated Astana 3-1 away from home.
After victories in their firsr four matches in this competition, Enzo Maresca decided to leave the bulk of his first team squad in London and handed debuts to promising youngster including Josh Acheampong.
One of the young stars to benefit was Marc Guiu who netted twice in the first half as a dominant Chelsea cruised into the lead. A third goal from Renato Veiga put the match beyond doubt despite Marin Tomasov pulling one back for the hosts.
Astana were more of a threat throughout the second half but Chelsea controlled possession well and limited opportunities for them to score. The whistle went at 3-1 and the Blues come away with another crucial three points.
Relive the updates from the Conference League in our live blog below:
Astana 0-0 Chelsea
12 mins: There’s a penalty check taking place after Carney Chukwuemeka is taken out inside the Astana penalty area. Nothing comes from it though.
Neto then sweeps forward on the right and digs out a cross but Yan Vorogovskiy is on hand to clear the danger.
Astana 0-0 Chelsea
9 mins: Chance!
That’s a fine pass from Josh Acheampong to thread Pedro Neto in behind the Astana left-back. Neto cuts into the box, gets into space and then shoots.
The effort is low and heading for the near post but Mukhammejan Seisen drops down and smothers the ball.
Astana 0-0 Chelsea
6 mins: Astana have one of the worst expected goals against in the entire competition so Chelsea should be confident of securing a big win today.
Enzo Maresca’s team are trying to find their feet and get used to these unusually conditions. Samuel Rak-Sakyi is brought down in the middle of the pitch and Chelsea win a free kick.
Astana 0-0 Chelsea
3 mins: There are a lot of gloves on display as the game itself begins to heat up. Geoffrey Charles Chinedu bombs down the left wing and recovers a long ball.
The host work it over to the opposite side of the pitch where Marin Tomasov dinks the ball into the box and fizzes one over the top.
Kick off! Astana 0-0 Chelsea
Chelsea get the ball rolling with their breaths visible in the cold air. They’ll want to get warmed up quickly so expect a quick tempo to start with.
The Blues look to keep the ball around the defence and draw out the home side.
Astana vs Chelsea
Here come the teams.
The players head out onto the pitch in cold, frosty conditions. Enzo Maresca has named an inexperienced team for the most part but the are some leaders on the pitch including captain for this evening Axel Disasi.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka will be hoping to impress as well. Can the Blues come away with a win?
Let’s find out, kick off is up next...
Astana vs Chelsea
Chelsea have never previously won all six opening-stage matches in a European competition. The closest wthey have come to perfection was five wins and one draw in Group L of the 2018/19 Europa League.
They went on to win the competition that year.
New Chelsea signing Estevao reveals Cole Palmer talks and preferred position
New Chelsea signing Estevao Willian has revealed that he and Cole Palmer have been chatting over Instagram as the 17-year-old Brazilian prepares to move to London in July.
Estevao will join Enzo Maresca’s side from Palmeiras in the summer after agreeing to sign for the London club last summer.
The teenager has enjoyed an excellent season in South America, scoring 15 times in all competitions and earning his first international call-up.
New Chelsea signing Estevao reveals Cole Palmer talks and preferred position
The Brazilian teenager will join Palmer at Chelsea in July of next year
Pre-match thoughts from Enzo Maresca
The Chelsea boss said: “Just two teams have conceded less than us, so we are attacking and defending well.
“I’ve said before, you’re not going to win games or titles just scoring goals, you need to defend, but even conceding three goals (against Tottenham), just two clubs have conceded more than us so it means defensively we are doing quite well.”
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