Chelsea extended their winning run in the UEFA Conference League, defeating hosts Astana of Kazakhstan 3-1 on Thursday evening in the fifth round, securing their spot in the round of 16.
Chelsea’s goals came from Marc Jurado (14′), an own goal by Astana’s Alexander Marushkin (18′), and Renato Vega (39′). Astana’s lone goal was scored by Marin Tomasov in the 45th minute.
Chelsea’s total increased to 15 points from five straight victories, while Astana remained on 4 points, temporarily sitting in 24th place.
The match was largely one-sided, reflecting the significant technical gap between the two teams, despite Chelsea fielding a lineup featuring mostly substitute players.
Chelsea took the lead in the 14th minute when Pedro Neto’s pass found the young Marc Jurado, who calmly finished to put the ball in the net.
Just four minutes later, Chelsea doubled their advantage when defender Maushkin inadvertently scored an own goal, sending the ball past his goalkeeper.
In the 26th minute, midfielder Renato Veiga had a chance to extend the lead further, but his shot from inside the penalty area sailed over the crossbar.
Portuguese winger Pedro Neto delivered a pass to Joyo, who unleashed a right-footed shot in the 31st minute, but it went wide of Astana’s goal.
From a corner taken by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga rose to meet the ball and headed it into the net, scoring Chelsea’s third goal in the 39th minute.
Astana pulled one back in the final minute of the first half when Tomasov received a pass from Karlo Bartlovic and drilled a left-footed shot into the net.
Astana’s goalkeeper made a brilliant save in the 60th minute, denying a powerful left-footed shot from Carney Chukwuemeka, and moments later, he was called into action again, stopping a left-footed strike from Tyreke George.
In the 62nd minute, George received a pass from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and took a shot, but the goalkeeper made the save. Two minutes later, Chukwuemeka’s shot was also denied by the keeper.
Dewsbury-Hall then tried his luck with an effort from outside the penalty area in the 72nd minute, but it narrowly missed the target, and in the 77th minute, George’s long-range shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
As the match entered the final 10 minutes in frigid conditions, the tempo slowed. In stoppage time, Chelsea’s promising Shumaira Moeko squandered an opportunity, sending his shot wide of the goal.
