Chelsea v Real Betis LIVE: Result and reaction as Blues fight back to triumph in Conference League final
Chelsea 4-1 Real Betis: Cole Palmer inspired a Blues comeback as they overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit to claim Conference League glory in Wroclaw
Chelsea secured their first silverware under Enzo Maresca and a clean sweep of European trophies as they thrashed Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final.
Enzo Maresca’s men were sluggish and looked out of ideas for much of the first half, and were blown away early on by the brilliant pairing of Isco and Abde Ezzalzouli, with the Moroccan latching onto a superb pass by Isco to slot home the opener in the ninth minute.
But Betis did not build on their lead and Maresca made some inspired substitutions, bringing on club captain Reece James at the restart to kick-start a Chelsea turnaround.
Cole Palmer was back to his brilliant best, assisting Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson inside five minutes in the second half to put the Blues in front, and they blew Manuel Pellegrini’s side away as the Spaniards faded.
Two more substitutes combined as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall squared to Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho, who curled a lovely finish past Betis keeper Adrian, before Fernandez teed up Caicedo in the final minute of normal time for Chelsea’s fourth. It was a performance of two halves for Chelsea but the second half was all that mattered as they sealed the title.
Relive all the Conference League final action with our live blog below:
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Real Betis
70 mins: Chelsea turn it around! It’s Palmer again as provider, turning it around on the right side of the box and crossing in for Jackson, who chests it down into the net - but there’s an appeal for handball against the striker, who essentially scored that with the front of his shoulder.
Chelsea 1-1 Real Betis
70 mins: It’s all Chelsea now and they fancy another one. Maresca’s subs have done the trick in this half.
Palmer has a go with an absolute screamer from range but Adrian jumps to it!
Betis string together a rare attack in this half, again it’s all Isco, but a Chelsea shirt makes the crucial block in the box.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Real Betis
65 mins: Well, you can’t say it hasn’t been coming. Fernandez times his run well to land on the end of a Palmer cross from the right, ducking in between Bartra and Sabaly to knock it past Adrian. All square in Wroclaw!
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
65 mins: Chelsea have looked much better in this half and a lot more controlled. Betis have sat back considerably more. They’ve only got a fragile lead.
Madueke has switched to the right flank.
Palmer looks promising as he cuts into the box but a Betis defender hacks it clear.
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
62 mins: Pedro Neto catches Perraud late. The former Saints man thinks it’s worth a dramatic fall to the turf. Neto feigns innocence, and that’s his last act of the match. He’s replaced by Jadon Sancho.
Badiashile comes off too, for Levi Colwill.
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
58 mins: VAR agree no penalty, just a corner. It falls to James eventually who has a brilliant chance but it deflects wide for another corner!
This time Chelsea get it to Jackson, but his low strike doesn’t trouble Adrian.
Betis counter, but work it wide and it fizzles out.
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
57 mins: Madueke runs down the left flank and floats in a great long ball to Jackson. The keeper comes off his line to punch it clear and there’s a clash of heads with both players down. The Chelsea players are not happy at all; there’s a quick check for a penalty but no dice. Both Jackson and Adrian are up quickly and look alright, thankfully.
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
53 mins: Just before that, Pedro Neto put in a crunching challenge on Perraud, and now Jackson gets a warning from the ref for a high boot on Bartra, scraping down his shoulder. He’s a bit theatrical going to ground.
Ezzalzouli, Betis’ goalscorer and most threatening player so far, has been limping for a while and he comes off now for Jesus Rodriguez, applauding the travelling support and tapping his badge. That’s a bit of a reprieve for Chelsea, but his replacement has quite the turn of pace himself.
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
50 mins: Better counter-attack by Chelsea, Jackson runs onto a long ball forward and cuts it back from the byline but neither Palmer nor Fernandez are there. He’s been rather isolated at the top of Chelsea’s formation.
The flag goes up anyway.
Chelsea 0-1 Real Betis
48 mins: Neto tries to get to a Chelsea cross down the right but it’s intercepted by a Betis shirt. Chelsea are trying to make a fast start to this half but the Betis defence are holding firm at the moment.
James floats a good ball to the far post but there’s no-one in space to receive it.
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