It was Axel Disasi, one of the handful of senior Chelsea players not spared the trip to Kazakhstan, who suggested that a freezing night a few thousand miles from home might be “not the best game to start” for the club’s potential debutants.
In truth, though, Thursday night’s Conference League meeting with Astana came as an early Christmas bonus eagerly accepted by the dozen Cobham graduates making up the numbers in Enzo Maresca’s squad. Seven were involved in some capacity, five making either first senior starts or appearances outright, and several of those ahead of schedule.
