Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall sends Chelsea ‘failure’ warning after Europa Conference League milestone

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has made it clear that anything but a trophy lift will deem Chelsea’s Europa Conference League campaign as a “failure”.

Thursday’s 3-1 win away at Astana in Kazakhstan means Chelsea have won all five of their league phase games so far and consequently top the table. They have already qualified for the knockouts and have all but secured a top eight spot with a game left to play.

Enzo Maresca has used a rotation squad for cup games this season, including in Europe. Despite being a £30million arrival from Leicester City this summer, Dewsbury-Hall has been used in this second team, having struggled to make an impact in the Premier League squad.

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He has made three of the last four Premier League matchday squads but has only managed to accumulate 55 minutes in the competition all season. Most of his game time has come in Europe, where he has started four of the five matches - having also started both League Cup ties.

Dewsbury-Hall, playing his 14th match this season, lasted the full 90 minutes in minus-12 degree conditions in Astana, grabbing his first assist of the campaign for Renato Veiga amid Chelsea’s final goal of the match on 39 minutes.

After full-time, the 26-year-old was asked about Chelsea’s ambition in the Europa Conference League. He replied: “To win it, simple as that. If we don’t win it then it’s a failure.”

His manager was pleased with how professional a young Chelsea team - which included a number of academy products and summer signings - coped in tough conditions 3,500 miles from home.

‘It was a solid performance," said Maresca. "We knew it was quite cold and we tried to adapt quickly. The players did fantastically with the weather conditions, the long journey yesterday, and the pitch was not ideal for us. Overall I’m very happy for the players.

“I’m also happy for the young players who helped us win the game. I was impressed by all of them.

“The ones who started, Tyrique [George], Sam [Rak-Sakyi] and Josh [Acheampong] all did very good. So I’m very happy for them and the ones that came on in the second half, I’m pleased."