Chelsea deploy ‘C team’ to overcome minus 11 temperatures and beat Astana

Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Amid the abnormalities of Chelsea’s 16-hour round trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana, the one customary occurrence was their straightforward victory.

In freezing temperatures, Enzo Maresca deployed a mixture of his “B” and “C” –a number of academy graduates making their debuts – teams to confirm their progression to the knockout phase of the Europa Conference League.

This competition has proved too easy for Chelsea’s second string, and even his third string had far too much quality for their opponents, though little was normal about the conditions they were playing in.

So cold was the -11C temperature, Astana goalkeeper Mukhammedzhan Seysen wore a woolly hat in a bid to stay warm.

The 7,000-mile round trip was the longest in Chelsea’s European history and it was inconvenient not only because of the five-hour time difference, but because of the need for an extended flight time to avoid the airspace over Russia, Ukraine and Syria.

The game also had to take place in Almaty, south Kazakhstan, due to renovations taking place at Astana’s usual home stadium.

The loyal Chelsea fans who braved the arduous journey were given a commemorative keyring for their efforts. Maresca, meanwhile, rewarded several of the club’s academy talents with his team selection.

The likes of Noni Madueke, Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson were all left at home while Cole Palmer, their top scorer in the Premier League, is not part of the Conference League squad at present.

That meant Marc Guiu, 18, led the line while Sam Rak-Sakyi, 19, and Josh Acheampong, 18, made their first starts. With Tyrique George, 18, also in the line-up, it was the first time Chelsea had ever started four teenagers in a European competition.

Rak-Sakyi, in particular, was impressive and composed when in possession and was arguably Chelsea’s best player on the pitch for much of the game. It was a performance that showed he could be a fine deputy to Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, who fulfil the central midfield roles on a regular basis.

All of the nine substitutes were Cobham graduates. Youngsters Ato Ampah, 18, Shim Mheuka, 17, and Kiano Dyer, who turned 18 last month, all came off the bench for their first-team debuts.

Mheuka’s introduction made him the second-youngest player, behind Dominc Solanke, to represent Chelsea in Europe. Harvey Vale, who spent last season on-loan with Bristol Rovers, was also given an opportunity as a second-half substitute.

While it was a pretty routine victory for this young and largely inexperienced Chelsea team, the quality of the pitch, which looked half-frozen, often made it difficult for them to get the ball down and play their best football.

But it did not really matter. For Maresca, this was a case of job done. Guiu scored one superb solo goal and another he knew little about. The second initially went down as an own goal by Aleksandr Marochkin but was later awarded to Guiu by Uefa. Renato Veiga scored the third with a powerful header.

Astana, to their credit, did manage a fine goal just before half-time through Marin Tomasov and spent the start of the second half attempting to make a game of it – but to no effect. Chelsea’s lead was never seriously threatened and the young players showed maturity to see the second half out in comfortable fashion.

As Chelsea’s former player Joe Cole said from a much warmer TNT Sports studio, Maresca and his team just needed to get in, get the job done and get out. The eight-hour flight home will perhaps feel less tiresome with qualification to the knockouts secured.

Match details

Astana (5-4-1) Seysen; Bartolec, Kazukolovas, Marochkin, Kalaica; Tomasov (Gripshi, 88), Ebong, Vorogovskiy; Amanovic (Osei, 46), Camara (Astanov, 90+1); Geoffrey (Karimov, 72).
Subs Zarutskiy, Condric, Bystrov, Kuat, Ahanonu, Beysebekov, Basmanov, Zhaksylyk.
Booked Amanovic.
Goal Tomasov (45).
Chelsea (3-1-2-1-3) Jorgensen; Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Disasi; Rak-Sakyi (Dyer, 86); Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga; Chukwuemeka (Vale, 67); Neto (Ampah, 46), Guiu (Mheuka, 78), George.
Subs Bergstrom, Merrick, Olise, Murray-Campbell, Wilson.
Goals Guiu (14, 18), Veiga (39).
Referee Sven Jablonski (Germany).

05:24 PM GMT

Full time: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea cruise through to the last 16 of the Conference League, five wins out of five and it was so comfortable, on their longest European away trip in 69 years of competition, they were able to give debuts to Ampah, Mheuka and Dyer.

Looks like a couple of hundred Chelsea fans made the eight-hour flight with them and the players head straight over at the final whistle to express their gratitude.

05:21 PM GMT

90+1 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

The first of two minutes of stoppage time ends with Mheuka spinning his marker and turning to bolt down the inside left but his shot too heads out towards the corner flag.

05:18 PM GMT

89 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Astana break with captain Tomasov to the fore again. He cuts in off the right and lifts a left-foot cross towards the left of the penalty spot. Camara controls it then blooters his shot out towards the corner flag.

05:17 PM GMT

87 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Another debut for Maresca’s side:

Dyer → Rak-Sakyi.

Astana defend the corner.

05:16 PM GMT

85 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

The game is petering out as Maresca prepares to bring on another sub. Dewsbury-Hall careers through the Astana penalty area, slaloming past two but the ball just gets ahead of him before he can control it to round the keeper and has to use a defender’s legs as a rebound board to salvage a corner.

05:13 PM GMT

82 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea maintain possession and ping passes around central midfield. Rak-Sakyi has performed with great maturity and skill.

05:11 PM GMT

80 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Astana supporters are blowing their horns and making a racket and their team responds by piling forward in numbers and creating a shooting opportunity for Osei 20 yards out. But up goes the flag to lower the tenor of the horns to mournful hoots.

05:09 PM GMT

77 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

No hat-trick for Guiu who goes off to be replaced by Shim Mheuka, another debutant who has starred for the England U17s and U19s. He’s 17.

05:04 PM GMT

74 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea continue to look bright around the opposition box but cannot find the killer pass in the second half.

05:02 PM GMT

71 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Desbury-Hall drifts into the No10 position, scampers forward with the ball under the control of his left foot, strides towards the D and rakes a left-foot shot across goal and just beyond the right post.

Karimov → Chinedu.

05:00 PM GMT

69 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea are penalised for a push at the corner.

04:59 PM GMT

67 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Harvey Vale → Chukwuemeka.

Vale almost scores with his first touch after Veiga freed George down the left with a cute, angled pass and the winger zipped in a low cross through the six-yard box that Vale flicked on target and Seysen hacked over the bar.

04:57 PM GMT

65 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chukwuemeka raises his hand in apology after dribbling upfield and then making a hash of the pass down the inside left for Guiu who had peeled away from Kazukolovas. Ampah picks up the ball and sprints infield from the right then overhits the cross.

04:52 PM GMT

62 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

George shoots again, this time from the left of the area but he gets underneath the ball a little and scoops it tamely. Seysen saves.

04:51 PM GMT

60 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chukwuemeka is another huge talent and he dribbles down the left of the penalty area, strides away from Bartolec before shooting from a tightish angle. Seysen saves with his feet. George picks up the block in the area and elegantly turns away from the defender to get a shot off himself that also comes to naught.

04:48 PM GMT

58 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Good work from Ebong and Kazukolovas as they drive upfield tees up Kalacia to shoot from 25 yards and straight into a Chelsea shin.

04:46 PM GMT

56 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chukwuemeka follows Veiga’s raid down the left with one of his own but is sandwiched and has to settle for a free-kick rather than a burst into the box.

04:45 PM GMT

54 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea defend the corner but the subsequent whipped ball in from the right pinballs around the box before Chelsea scramble it clear.

04:43 PM GMT

52 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Ampah is lightning quick and bombs down the left and into the box, staying upright at full pelt on a slippy pitch. His shot is blocked and Astana break with the dangerous Tomasov, playing with pride and skill, cuts his left-foot across a 20 yard shot that swerves and dips at high speed and Jorgensen has to slap it behind one-handed for an Astana corner.

04:40 PM GMT

49 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

He’s a really good player Dewsbury-Hall. I don’t know if he hs a long-term future at Chelsea but he would be a fine buy in the summer for a club looking to establish themselves in the Premier League, as would Caoimhin Kelleher, Kieran Tierney and Emi Buendia, preferably all four.

04:37 PM GMT

48 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

George and Chukwuemeka link up down the left and both scoot around the box, dribbling and feinting but cannot find the opening to shoot.

04:36 PM GMT

46 min: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

Barnes Osei has come on for Astana replacing Armanovic. Ato Ampah is on to make his Chelsea debut on the right wing in Pedro Neto’s stead.

04:20 PM GMT

Half-time: Astana 1 Chelsea 3

One moment of brilliance from Tomasov apart, that was all Chelsea. Guiu is a terrific talent and far from sulking at being forced to fly eight hours here and eight hours back to play in -11C as a consequence of getting himself suspended from Sunday’s Brentford game, Pedro Neto has been marvellous, putting a proper shift in and leading by example.

04:15 PM GMT

GOAL!

Astana 1 Chelsea 3 (Tomasov) Scratch that cakewalk comment... Blogger’s curse. Veiga fell asleep a second time, lazily jockeyed Tomasov as the Astana veteran faced him up. Tomasov used the lack of urgency to slip the ball on to his left from the right of the D and arc a wonderful shot into the top left via the inside of the post.

04:14 PM GMT

43 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 3

Astana, whose domestic season ended some weeks ago, are being rinsed by Chelsea who have mastered a tempo that the home side simply can’t live with. Add that to the gulf in skill and we have a cakewalk on our hands.

04:10 PM GMT

GOAL!

Astana 0-3 Chelsea (Veiga) Chelsea corner after Chukwuemeka’s shot was turned behind. Dewsbury-Hall (AKA Batley-Manor), takes it and the Portugal left-back leaps and buries the header from eight yards utterly unchallenged, molested or marked.

04:09 PM GMT

38 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Acheampong flies down the inside right, dribbling confidently and driving through the gap between Vorogovskiy and Kalacia until he fires his shot into the centre-back.

04:08 PM GMT

36 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Now Tomasov pounces on a misplaced Acheampong pas and the veteran bolts from right to left across the 18-yard line before slipping in Chinedu who at least keeps his shot on target but straight at Jorgensen.

04:06 PM GMT

34 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

That has been the only scare Chelsea have suffered. And self-inflicted as Veiga was far too casual.

04:05 PM GMT

32 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Chinedu wafts a 25 yard effort over after Veiga was mugged high on the Chelsea left while mucking about. Astana broke with Ebong and Camara flooding behind Dewsbury-Hall and Rak-Sakyi but Chinedu snapped at a shot when he should have kept probing to take the ball closer.

04:02 PM GMT

29 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Guiu is played down the right of the box, shifts the ball from right to left and back again and then thunders a right-foot shot over as he tried to beat Seysen with a rising near-post effort.

04:00 PM GMT

27 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Booking for Amanovic for catching Guiu across the knee with a rash tackle. Guiu is bold enough to brave a long liedown on the glacial pitch for treatment. But ultimately he stands up before being cryogenically frozen, somewhat prematurely.

03:58 PM GMT

25 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Veiga blindsides Bartolec with a back-post run to meet Neto’s long, floaty left-foot inswinging cross from the right but he runs out of room and hooks his effort on to the roof of the net.

03:55 PM GMT

22 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Neat pass from Acheampong up the inside-right for Neto who tacks a few yards infield and shoots low with his left. Seysen fumbles his diving save but springs up in time to smother the ball before Guiu can pounce for a hat-trick.

03:54 PM GMT

20 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 2

Uefa originally awarded the goal to Marochkin but have rescinded that and given it to Guiu.

03:49 PM GMT

GOAL!

Astana 0-2 Chelsea (Guiu) Again the goal comes down the right when Neto has too much speed, skill and class for Vorogovskiy. He hares away from him, cuts infield then chips a low cross through the six-yard box. Guiu makes a near-post run and flicks it in, seemingly off Marochkin’s backside.

03:49 PM GMT

16 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 1

Astana are not pressing Chelsea at all, allowing them to dictate tempo and hog the ball in midfield.

03:45 PM GMT

GOAL!

Astana 0-1 Chelsea (Guiu) Pretty much a solo effort as he ran down the left wing, cut in, shimmied and sped away from Marochkin and Vorogovskiy to enter the box and finish sweetly with his right instep.

03:44 PM GMT

13 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

George is caught offside when picked out by Tosin’s excellent diagonal and then Chukwuemeka messes up a chance to feed Guiu with a straightforward pass to feet across the 18-yard line.

03:42 PM GMT

11 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

Astana defend the corner solidly and when Chelsea try to recycle from the left Chukwuemeka hits the deck when tackled by Kalacia. VAR checks for a penalty when the ball goes out of play but decides after a while that the original decision can stand.The replay from a different angle shows he was clipped but the defender also took the ball.

03:40 PM GMT

8 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

Amanovic, dawdling in the centre-circle, is well tackled by Rak-Sakyi and he pushes him over to stop him breaking away with the ball. Chelsea take the free-kick short and Acheampong fizzes a perfect pass up the right into Neto’s stride and the Portugal winger cuts in on his left and shoots low from 18 yards. Seysen tips it round the post.

03:36 PM GMT

6 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

Kazukolovas chips a long pass over the top for Toamsov to chase. He thinks he has caught Chelsea by surprise as he drifts in behind but the subsequent flag erases the shoddy cross/shot that came, looping the ugly hybrid over the bar.

03:35 PM GMT

5 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

Dewsbury-Hall slides George down the line from the free-kick and he cuts infield on to his right foot but launches his curling shot into orbit.

03:34 PM GMT

3 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

Very much Maresca ball so far, horse-shoeing the ball up and down one wing, aross and up and down the other one. Kalacia fouls Chukwuemeka 30 yards out.

03:32 PM GMT

1 min: Astana 0 Chelsea 0

Chelsea kick off, attacking from left to right. Dewsbury-Hall has forgone the tights. Tough these East Midlanders. The ball is zipping around on the frost-flecked surface. Chelsea are probing, sweeping the ball from side to side.

03:28 PM GMT

Out come the teams

Astana in yellow, Chelsea in black with pink trim. All players are gloved, most in tights, some in hats.

03:17 PM GMT

Enzo Maresca speaks to TNT Sports

03:01 PM GMT

New competition, new anthem

02:40 PM GMT

Teams in the trad style

Astana Seysen; Bartolec, Kazukolovas, Kalaica, Vorogovskiy; Ebong, Marochkin, Amanovic; Tomasov, Geoffrey Chinedu, Camara. 
Substitutes Zarutskiy, Condric, Bystrov, Kuat, Ahanonu, Beysebekov, Osei, Basmanov, Gripshi, Karimov, Zhaksylyk.

Chelsea Jorgensen, Acheampong, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Veiga, Pedro Neto, Rak-Sakyi, Chukwuemeka, Guiu. 
Substitutes Bergstrom, Merrick, Dyer, Mheuka, Vale, Olise, Murray-Campbell, Wilson, Ampah.

Referee Sven Jablonski (Germany)

02:36 PM GMT

Chelsea team

Josh Acheampong makes first start.

01:53 PM GMT

Preview: A freezing night in Asia

Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of Astana vs Chelsea from the Uefa Conference League, a night match in Almaty but one that comes in the mid-afternoon here because most of Kazakhstan is so far east it is in Asia. Chelsea, who are top of the 36-team league having won all four of their matches, will use the extremities of their large first-team squad, as they have done so far in the competition, so expect some familiar faces from the peripheries of Premier League games – Filip Jorgensen, Christopher Nkunku, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Axel Disasi, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marc Guiu, Renato Veiga – plus a sprinkling of kids such as Tyrique George, Omari Kellyman and Samuel Rak-Sakyi.

Enzo Maresca will be keen to keep the momentum of his revival/rebuild going and, let us not forget, should they win this four-year-old competition, Chelsea would become the first side to sweep Europe, having won the Champions Cup/League in 2012 and 2021, the Fairs Cup/Uefa Cup/Europa League in 2013 and 2019, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971 and 1998 and the Super Cup in 1998 and 2021. The trophy snobs deem this an insignificant competition but a cup is a cup and to have the honour of winning them all would be a feather in Chelsea’s cap, at least in this old timer’s view.

Astana, who you may remember beat a scratch Manchester United side in Almaty in the Europa League five years ago, are down in 23rd place, clinging on to a play-off spot, having beaten TSC of Serbia and drawn with Vitoria de Guimaraes, but suffering defeats at the hands of Wales’ The New Saints in a match played at Shrewsbury Town, and Pafos of Cyprus. It’s essentially as big a mismatch as you can find at this level but Maresca’s marshalling of his resources, like a cagey quartermaster, the long flight there and back and the fact that it’s beyond taters, -10c in Almaty tonight, should be levelling factors.