Chelsea recorded five wins in five Europa Conference League appearances on Thursday, beating Astana 3-1 in Almaty.
A much-changed Chelsea team battled frosty conditions in Kazakhstan and beat almost everyone to secure a top-eight finish in the league stage, which would have secured automatic qualification to the round of 16.
Chelsea is in first place in the table with 15 points and is three ahead of Legia Warszawa, which is the only team that can boast a perfect record in the competition.
The Polish team will try to draw with Chelsea in Thursday’s match against Swiss Lugano.
The defeat leaves Astana in last place in the play-offs with four points and at risk of elimination.
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Chelsea scored points in the first half with goals from Marc Guiu and Renato Veiga.
Marin Tomasov scored for the hosts after the first half, but Enzo Maresca’s men rarely looked worried in the second half as they decided the victory.
Guiu got Chelsea off to a flying start, scoring twice in the first 20 minutes to take his tally to three goals in five appearances in Europe this season.
His first goal in 14 minutes showed off the former Barcelona striker’s promising talent as he dribbled past a defender on the right wing before firing in from a tight angle.
The 18-year-old Spaniard doubled his scoring four minutes later with a goal from the striker, who slotted the ball into the attacking post after good play by Pedro Neto on the wing.
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Renato Veiga (21 years old) was the third to put the ball into the Chelsea goal after a corner kick in the 39th minute.
Croatian veteran Tomasov scored the decisive goal in the 45th minute, beating Renato Veiga in the box and then firing a left-footed shot at the far post.
Earlier, Sweden’s Djurgarden temporarily moved up to sixth place after a 2-1 win over Vikingur Reykjavik, despite finishing the season with 10 players.
