Enzo Maresca had a brilliant reaction to Marc Guiu's sensational solo goal versus Astana in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night. The Spanish striker, 18, opened the scoring for the Blues in just the 14th minute on what was a below-freezing night at the Almaty Central Stadium, Kazakhstan. After picking the ball up near the touchline on the right-flank, Guiu drove past Astana defender Alexander Marochkin and into the penalty area, before cheekily lifting the ball beyond the onrushing Mukhammedzhan Seysen and into the net. As Guiu celebrated with his teammates, Maresca looked on in disbelief at what he'd just seen, placing his hands in his head and letting out a huge smile.
Four minutes after Guiu's opener, Marochkin then turned Pedro Neto's cross into his own net to double Chelsea's advantage, before Renato Veiga added a third in the 39th minute. Marin Tomasov pulled one back for Astana just before the break, but the hosts couldn't find a way back into the game in the second-half, with the score finishing 3-1 to the Blues. Speaking on TNT Sports, former Chelsea star Joe Cole heaped praise on Guiu, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona in the summer, for his performance, likening him to former Barca striker Luis Suarez. "Marc Guiu must have watched Luis Suarez as a young man at Barcelona," Cole said. "He was a thorn in the side throughout for Astana in that first half. He was direct and the first goal was exquisite from the young man." The win for Chelsea saw them maintain their lead at the top of the Europa Conference League's new-look group phase, with Maresca's side having won all five of their games in the competition so far, scoring 21 goals and conceding just four in the process.
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