Chelsea have won the UEFA Conference League with a 4-1 victory over Real Betis in the final.
Their win over the Spanish side in the Polish city of Wroclaw on Wednesday came thanks to goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho, and Moises Caicedo.
It means a trophy in his first season for Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who also guided the west London side to fourth place in the Premier League, with the youngest squad in the competition’s history.
Their victory over Nottingham Forest in their final league match of the season on Sunday meant they had already qualified for next season’s Champions League.
The Conference League win is Chelsea’s seventh European trophy from the current crop, to go with a pair of Champions Leagues, Europa Leagues, and UEFA Super Cups – and ninth when including the two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups won in the 1970s and 1990s.
It also makes Chelsea the first club to win all four of the current crop of European competitions.
The win also delivers the first trophy under the ownership of Clearlake Capital – which bought Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2022.
Prior to this, during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, Chelsea failed to secure any major trophies.
Chelsea had Cole Palmer to thank for their comeback victory over Real Betis, having gone 1-0 down to a goal from Abde Ezzalzouli inside 10 minutes.
The midfielder took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half, setting up Fernandez for Chelsea’s equaliser with a perfectly weighted cross from deep.
A skilful turn on the edge of the area then allowed space for him to set up Jackson five minutes later, before Sancho and Caicedo secured the victory.
Former Chelsea winger Joe Cole described Palmer as an “absolute genius” after the game. – Sky Sports.
