Chelsea have all but confirmed their place in the last 16 of the Conference League thanks to a 3-1 win away to Astana in conditions as low as minus-nine degrees in Kazakhstan.
In the club's furthest-ever away trip in Europe, travelling 5,700km to the most south-eastern region of Kazakhstan, just 140 miles from the border with China, a youthful Chelsea side made little fuss in freezing temperatures to maintain their 100% start in the competition.
Marc Guiu grasped a rare opportunity in the side with both hands, scoring twice inside 20 minutes, before Renato Veiga's header put the game beyond the Kazakh side before half time.
Veteran captain Marin Tomasov did score an excellent goal late in the opening period for the hosts, but Grigori Babayan's men were a class below Chelsea in Almaty, 600 miles from their home venue in the capital, which is currently undergoing renovation.
Chelsea could have added more goals in the second half, but the game petered out with the visitors in cruise control throughout, allowing manager Enzo Maresca to hand debuts to teenagers Kiano Dyer, Shumaira Mheuka and Ato Ampah, as the game ended 3-1.
The win for Chelsea leaves them top of the 36-team standings ahead of tonight's later fixtures, and Legia Warsaw are the only side who cane leapfrog them, but only if they can beat Lugano by a huge seven-goal margin.
Astana have fallen to 24th on goal difference despite no other teams playing this early in the day, and they will most likely drop out of the knockout places entirely following the completion of matchday five, ahead of facing APOEL Nicosia next week.
ASTANA VS. CHELSEA HIGHLIGHTS
Marc Guiu goal vs. Astana (14th min, Astana 0-1 Chelsea)
Solo effort puts Chelsea ahead 😍
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2024
Marc Guiu makes an impact from the start as his marvellous run and finish puts the Blues ahead in Kazakhstan 🥶
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/dlowgxRqPQ
After a tepid opening 10 minutes, Guiu has blown this game into life with a fantastic solo goal. The teenage striker isolated Aleksandr Marochkin out on the right-hand side, and showed plenty of pace and power to get past the Astana defender and he had the composure to finish smartly at the front post.
Marc Guiu goal vs. Astana (19th min, Astana 0-2 Chelsea)
It is scruffy but it is a second for Chelsea! Some fine wing play from Pedro Neto sees his driven cross palmed out by goalkeeper Mukhammedzhan Seysen, but it ricochets into the goal via a combination of both Marochkin and Guiu, with the Chelsea attacker eventually being awarded the goal.
Renato Veiga goal vs. Astana (39th min, Astana 0-3 Chelsea)
Chelsea are running away with this one ⚡️
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2024
Renato Veiga puts them 3-0 up!
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/CfA2jzzUz0
About as simple a goal as Chelsea could have wished for, with Veiga left totally unmarked in the centre of the penalty area from a corner, and the Portugese defender heads home from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's delivery.
Tomasov goal vs. Chelsea (45th min, Astana 1-3 Chelsea)
What a strike 💥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2024
Astana get a goal back just before half-time with a cracker from Tomasov 🔥
Game on...?
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/10kjvpc29S
After barely threatening the Chelsea goal at all, Astana are back in with a shout and it is a stunning strike from captain Tomasov. The 37-year-old Croatian steps away from Veiga, who allows too much space for the midfielder, and he unleashes an unstoppable strike which beats Filip Jorgensen, and cannons in off the inside of the far post.
MAN OF THE MATCH - KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL
© Imago
Guiu was excellent in the early stages, and got the ball rolling in what could have been a very tricky assignment for Chelsea, but for a player signed for big money who is not getting a look in at all in the first team, Dewsbury-Hall's professionalism tonight was commendable, and he was on top form, controlling the midfield throughout.
ASTANA VS. CHELSEA MATCH STATS
Possession: Astana 30%-70% Chelsea
Shots: Astana 6-23 Chelsea
Shots on target: Astana 3-12 Chelsea
Corners: Astana 2-4 Chelsea
Fouls: Astana 7-8 Chelsea
BEST STATS
4 - In Josh Acheampong, Samuel Rak-Sakyi, Tyrique George and Marc Guiu, @ChelseaFC are starting four teenagers in a match in major European competition for the very first time. Kicks. #ASTCHE
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 12, 2024
The weather in Almaty, Kazakhstan for FC Astana vs. Chelsea 😳🥶 pic.twitter.com/fAJVlOsUOp
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) December 12, 2024
Chelsea are playing Astana 3,479 miles from London in Almaty, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) December 12, 2024
It's the club's longest-ever away day— each way roughly 600 miles more than the greatest distance between any two points in the contiguous United States—and New York City is closer to Stamford Bridge 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Qga8aQfVbY
WHAT NEXT?
Chelsea are back in Premier League action against West London neighbours Brentford on Sunday night, while Astana's next outing will be their matchday six encounter versus APOEL, with the Kazakh season having come to its conclusion at the end of November.
Andrew Delaney
