Chelsea win big in -11 degree weather

Coach Enzo Maresca changed 10 starting positions compared to the 4-3 win over Tottenham in round 15 of the Premier League last weekend, with Axel Disasi, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tosin Adarabioyo being the most experienced players in the starting lineup.

Opportunities were given to a series of young players such as strikers Tyrique George, Marc Guiu (18 years old), midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka (21), Sam Rak-Sakyi (19) or two full-backs Renato Veiga (21) and Sam Rak-Sakyi (19). In the second half, it was Kiano Dyer, Ato Ampah (18) and Shumaira Mheuka (17) who entered the field and made their debut for the Chelsea first team.

But despite not using the first team, having to fly 8 hours to Kazakhstan and playing in temperatures down to -11 degrees Celsius, Chelsea still had an easy match. At the Ortalyq Stadium on December 12, "The Blues" dominated with 70% possession, 23 shots with 12 on target - compared to 6 and 3 for Astana.

In the 14th minute, Guiu broke through from the right wing into the middle and finished into the near corner to open the scoring. Four minutes later, Neto crossed from the right wing for the Spanish striker to cut in and finish, completing his double and doubling the gap.

The game was settled in the first half, when Dewsbury-Hall took a corner from the right wing for Renato Veiga to head the ball across to make it 3-0. Astana's efforts in the remaining time only helped them find a goal through Marin Tomasov.

Chelsea are the club that won all five matches and hold the top position of Europa Conference League with 15 points. The English representative is five points ahead of the eighth place that has to play-off, so they have already secured a ticket to the round of 16. In the final match, they play at Stamford Bridge against Irish club, Shamrock Rovers on 19 December.

"We knew the weather was very cold and tried to adapt quickly. The players did well with the weather conditions, the long journey yesterday and the not-so-ideal pitch," Maresca praised Chelsea after the match.

The Italian coach was impressed with the performances of young players such as George, Rak-Sakyi, Acheampong and praised Guiu for making the most of his chance to start, when it was difficult to compete with the two seniors Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku. Chelsea had to travel an additional eight hours to return to London, but Maresca did not complain and affirmed that the team will prepare well for the match against Brentford in the round of 16 of the Premier League on December 15.

Line-up:

Astana:Seisen, Bartolec, Kazukolovas, Marochkin, Vorogovskiy, Ebong, Amanovic (Osei 46), Kalaica, Tomasov (Gripshi 88), Camara (Astanov 90), Geoffrey (Karimov 72)

Chelsea:Jorgensen, Acheampong, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga, Rak Sakyi (Dyer 86), Dewsbury Hall, Chukwuemeka (Vale 67), Neto (Ampah 46), George, Guiu (Mheuka 78)