Enzo Maresca praised the manner in which his players dealt with the testing circumstances surrounding our UEFA Conference League fixture away to Astana after the Blues ran out 3-1 winners in Kazakhstan.
Subzero temperatures met the players in Almaty but our performance was unaffected as the Blues raced into a three-goal lead inside 40 minutes.
That start set the tone for a comfortable victory and afterward, our head coach explained the reasons for his satisfaction at another European success.
‘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.’
Two goals inside the opening 20 minutes from Marc Guiu gave the Blues the platform for victory and Maresca praised the Spaniard for taking the opportunity to lead our attack in Almaty.
‘Marc is doing well. Since we started he has been working hard. We have Nicolas Jackson and Christo Nkunku who are doing well, but when he had the chance today Marc played in the right way.’
Maresca left his final word for the away support, with those coming from London travelling over 7000 miles to Almaty and back to see the game.
‘It’s a very long journey and we are very thankful. Even for them, the conditions were not ideal, but they were there and we really appreciate that. Now, as I said, we need their support on Sunday [against Brentford].’
