Chelsea teenager Marc Guiu scores twice in 3-1 win over Astana in Conference League
Chelsea's Joshua Acheampong holds the ball during the Europa Conference League opening phase soccer match between Astana and Chelsea at the Almaty Ortalyk stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. Credit: AP
A youthful Chelsea lineup made the most of a long trip to Kazakhstan by beating Astana 3-1 on Thursday to stay perfect in the UEFA Conference League.
Marc Guiu struck twice within five minutes early in the first half. The 18-year-old forward opened the scoring on a solo effort in the 14th and added his second after meeting a cross from Pedro Neto from the right in freezing conditions in the Kazakh capital.
Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored three in the competition.
Renato Veiga, who is 21, headed home the third off a corner before Marin Tomasov scored for the hosts late in the first half.
Neto was the only player to remain from the squad that beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday to move to second in the Premier League.
Chelsea has 15 points atop the standings of third-tier competition with one more game to play in the league phase.
In another early game, Swedish team Djurgarden beat Vikingur 2-1 in Iceland.
Chelsea's Marc Guiu, left, fights for the ball with Astana's Alexandr Marochkin during the Europa Conference League opening phase soccer match between Astana and Chelsea at the Almaty Ortalyk stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. Credit: AP
More games — including those in the second-tier Europa League — were scheduled later Thursday.
Among them, unbeaten Manchester United is at Viktoria Plzen while Rangers host Tottenham.
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