Chelsea have just beaten Astana in Kazakhstan in a game which will be more famous for its logistics than the 90 minutes themselves.
In what’s presumably one of the longest journeys possible in European football, the Blues travelled from the British Isles to Central Asia, and played in minus 10 degree temperatures in their Conference League group stage game.
After the game Enzo Maresca was asked about which of the many mitigating factors had had the most impact on his team:
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A relaxed Enzo Maresca in his press conference. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Josh Acheampong plays against Barrow. (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Sky Sports graphic comparing distance from New York to Almaty.
“We knew that it was quite cold. We tried to adapt, I think the players did fantastic, with the weather conditions, the long flight, the long journey, and also the pitch probably was not ideal for us. But overall really happy for the players,” Maresca explained.
Marc Guiu celebrates scoring against FC Astana (Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC)
Marc Guiu celebrates scoring against FC Astana (Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC)
Chelsea still face gruelling return to UK after away win
It’s not over yet, of course. They still have to go travel back to the UK, and the follow up question for Maresca was about how they would cope with the preparations for Sunday’s game against Brentford given how delayed everything is..
“We’re going to land around 6 am UK time, and we’re going to try to prepare the game in the best way we can, as we always have done this season,” the Italian coach explained pretty bluntly.
He’s not got time for much detail, and we can’t blame him. He’s just spent 90 minutes sitting outdoors in minus 10 degree temperatures, and will be as keen as anyone to get on the coach and get out of Dodge.
We always knew the Conference League was bound to throw up a rogue test like this, and we did well to get through it. In fact we found some major positives from it. And hopefully this will be the last time we have to head east of the Black Sea this season.