Chelsea maintain perfect record in UEFA Conference League

Chelsea maintained their perfect record in this season’s UEFA Conference League , beating Kazakhstani champions Astana 3-1 in the longest European away trip in the club’s history.

Any Chelsea fan who thought a trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 2019 UEFA Europa League final was too far will likely have been less enthusiastic about flying to Eastern Kazakhstan. With Astana’s home stadium under renovation, they are playing their European home games in Almaty, which is less than 200 miles from the Chinese border. The round trip from London to Almaty Central Stadium totals over 7,000 miles, and with the game played in freezing conditions of -11°C, even Chelsea’s players might have preferred to stay in the warmer climate of Southern England.

However, with qualification for the knockout stages already secured, Enzo Maresca could afford to leave most of his key players behind and give some squad members a chance to play. Despite making many changes, Chelsea dominated the first half. Tyrique George’s shot narrowly missed, and Pedro Neto had an effort saved by Mukhammedzhan Seysen before Marc Guiu scored with a brilliant solo run and finish in the 15th minute.

Chelsea made it 2-0 before the half-hour mark when Aleksandr Marochkin put Neto’s cross into his own net, and a third goal arrived just before the break as Renato Veiga headed home Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner. Astana struggled to cope with Chelsea’s skill and strength, but they did pull one back just before halftime, with captain Marin Tamasov scoring off the post.

Chelsea

Astana came out after the break with more energy and tested goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen with a powerful strike from Tomasov, but Chelsea quickly regained control. Carney Chukwuemeka, George, and Guiu all came close to scoring, while Dewsbury-Hall shot wide. In the end, Chelsea didn’t need another goal thanks to their dominant first-half performance.

This victory ensures Chelsea stay top of the UECL group, with qualification for the knockout stage almost guaranteed thanks to their strong goal difference. For Astana, it was always going to be a tough challenge, and they’ll be relieved the defeat wasn’t by a bigger margin. After five matches, they have four points and are still in the hunt for a spot in the play-off round.

Chelsea
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