Mounting a sensational second-half comeback on Wednesday night, Chelsea were crowned Europa Conference League champions as they stormed their way to a 4-1 romp against Real Betis.
However, left stunned in the opening nine minutes as Abde Ezzalzouli finished smartly, it was Betis who dominated large spells of the first-half as Los Verdiblancos appeared well placed to clinch a maiden piece of silverware.
With skipper Reece James entering the electric atmosphere in Wroclaw following the half-time break, Enzo Maresca’s men set up a grandstand finish.
Watching both Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson head home following a pair of moments of brilliance from Cole Palmer, Chelsea completed a five-minute turnaround.
The Blues then run rampant in the final 10 minutes as second-half substitute Jason Sancho and Moises Caicedo power home from outside the box.
Wrapping up a Champions League return and ending the 2024/25 campaign with a European trophy to show for their troubles, it makes Chelsea the first team to win all five Uefa club tournaments.
On a night when Maresca’s side wrote another chapter of European success, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Wroclaw.
Maresca proves Chelsea’s backing was the right call
While there might have been some speculation last month that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy were weighing up a potential change in the dugout, their decision to stick with Maresca has certainly been justified.
g off the 2024/25 campaign with an essential 1-0 victory away at Nottingham Forest, the Blues stormed their way to a lucrative Champions League return and travelled out to Poland having picked up some crucial momentum.
Despite showing some extended issues when opening 2025, Chelsea have certainly hit top gear at a crucial time of the season.
Heavily dominated throughout the first-half, Maresca’s side deserve a tremendous amount of praise for the resolve that they showed after returning from the interval and will now look back at their maiden campaign under the former Leicester City boss as a success.
Becoming the first team in European history to get their hands on all five of Uefa’s club tournaments, the Blues have also won eight of their previous nine appearances and should be excited by what Maresca has planned for next year.
Palmer comes alive under the bright lights
Enjoying what was a record-breaking maiden campaign at Stamford Bridge last season after completing a permanent switch from Manchester City, Palmer quickly cemented his spot as the new poster boy in SW6.
However, although the England international might have opened the New Year with consecutive Premier League strikes, it is fair to say that Chelsea’s attacking talisman has struggled to find his tantalising best over the past few months.
In fact, Palmer got Wednesday’s showpiece even underway having notched just a single goal across any competition since the middle of January.
Nevertheless, included in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad for this summer’s matchups against Andorra and Senegal, Palmer once again stole all of the headlines here.
Producing a pair of sublime assists and spearheading Chelsea’s comeback in Poland, the 23-year-old was at the heart of everything positive the Blues proceeded on Wednesday night and has underlined his status as a modern day icon in west London.
An infamous collapse for Betis
Opening the scoring after just nine minuets and dominating the majority of the first-half, few would have expected Manuel Pellegrini’s camp to put in such a bullish performance outside of Andalusia.
However, while Los Verdiblancos might have caused the Premier League giants a string of headlines prior to the break, the former Manchester City boss saw his squad drastically fail to replicate similar levels during the second-half.
Failing to win any of their final four La Liga appearances as they signed off the 2024/25 campaign without some crucial momentum, Betis will be hugely frustrated by the way that they fell apart under the bright lights.
While Manchester United loanee Antony might have enjoyed a remarkable arrival after completing a January loan switch from Old Trafford, the Brazilian international failed to make any kind of impact on Wednesday night.
Although Betis might have already booked a Europa League ticket for next season, Pellegrini’s camp were left heartbroken in Warsaw and will take some time to recover from a real collapse here.
Match Report
Real Betis: Adrian, Sabaly, Bartra, Natan, R. Rodriguez, Fornals, Cardoso, Antony, Isco, Ezzlzouli, Bakambu
Subs: Los Celso, Perraud, J. Rodriguez, Ruibal, Altimira
Chelsea: Jorgensen, Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Palmer, Madueke, Jackson
Subs: James, Colwill, Guiu, Sancho, Dewsbury-Hall
Goals: Real Betis: Ezzalzouli (9’) – Chelsea: Fernandez (65’), Jackson (70’), Sancho (83’), Caicedo (90+1’)
Yellow Cards: Real Betis: Antony, Perraud – Chelsea: Palmer, Badiashile, Sancho
Red Cards: N/A
Referee: Irfan Peljto
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