Had he not picked up a very late yellow card at Tottenham, Pedro Neto may have missed the trip to Kazakhstan to play Astana. As it was, the winger’s suspension for Sunday’s game against Brentford gave him the chance to show once more what he can do on the European stage. It was a chance he took.
Neto was a menace down our right from the very first whistle in Almaty. He had an early effort well saved before demonstrating his creative abilities with a darting run and cross for Marc Guiu to smuggle the ball over the line and put the Blues 2-0 up.
The Portuguese could easily have registered another couple of assists before his half-time withdrawal but was delighted with the one he got, the goal-scorer’s contribution, and the Blues' overall performance.
‘Marc did really well for the goal, he almost gave me that assist,’ said Neto. ‘It was the work we prepared before the game. It was a really good job by him, and I’m happy for the win and the three points.
‘It was the collective work of the team, and how we got into the game with personality to get the job done, the attitude we had, that took us to the 3-0 lead that was really important for us. From there we could get the win.’
Perhaps the biggest obstacle between the Blues and another Conference League victory was the weather, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 11 degrees.
‘In England it’s cold, but not as cold as this!’ joked Neto. ‘When we first went to the pitch it was colder than I thought it would be. It was really cold, I think the coldest I’ve ever played! We are not used to it. But after you got warmed up, it was a little bit better.
‘It’s not easy to play in this weather, but we had the right attitude and the right game we prepared. We showed the aggressiveness we needed to. We did really well and we are really happy.’
The 24-year-old also made sure to thank the hundreds of Chelsea fans who filled a significant corner of the Almaty Ortalyk Stadion and ensured they could be heard. They had travelled from far and wide, and were bolstered by locals excited to see an elite Premier League team on their doorstep.
‘We felt them, it was an unbelievable support,’ Neto said. ‘It was really special. We were speaking about the support we had, and we were really grateful for the help. It’s for that we continue to enjoy football every day. The love the supporters give to us is amazing.’