Enzo Maresca sang the praises of his young players after Chelsea comfortably saw off Astana 3-1 in the Conference League in brutally cold conditions.

There was a reported temperature of -10 degrees Celsius in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, but that did not stop Maresca's side running out winners and confirming their spot in the last 16.

Marc Guiu opened the scoring on 14 minutes before an Aleksandr Marochkin own goal and Renato Veiga header had the Blues 3-0 up inside 39 minutes.

Marin Tomasov pulled one back for Astana before half-time but there was never any danger of a comeback.

Josh Acheampong, Samuel Rak-Sakyi, Tyrique George and Guiu all started the game, the first time four teenagers have done so in European competition for Chelsea, while several other youngsters appeared in the second half.

Maresca was delighted with the way they adapted to the harsh weather.

He said: "It was quite cold. The players did fantastically in the conditions after a long journey.

"All of the young players have done very well. I am very happy for them – and also the ones that came on in the second half.

"For sure in the future they can play more in the Premier League. They need to work hard to deserve the chance but they are doing very well."