Chelsea crush Betis to win UEFA Conference League
Chelsea staged a stunning second-half comeback to defeat Real Betis 4-1 in the UEFA Conference League final in Wroclaw on Wednesday, becoming the first club to win all four major European trophies.
Trailing 1-0 with 25 minutes left, the Blues roared back to life as Cole Palmer turned creator, delivering two pinpoint assists from the right flank.
Enzo Fernandez headed home the equaliser from Palmer’s inswinging cross before Nicolas Jackson bundled in another five minutes later at the near post.
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Substitute Jadon Sancho made it 3-1 with a delightful curling finish off a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall pass, and Moises Caicedo sealed the victory in stoppage time with a deflected 20-yard strike.
Chelsea had gone into the break deservedly behind after Abde Ezzalzouli fired home from Isco’s precise pass, capping an impressive first-half display by the Spanish side.
The turnaround justified manager Enzo Maresca’s decision to name his strongest starting XI of the Conference League campaign, as Chelsea rewrote the history books.
The victory makes Chelsea the first club to win all five UEFA-sanctioned men’s competitions: the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup, and the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.
It also marked the end of a remarkable Spanish dominance in European and international finals. Until Wednesday night, Spanish teams had emerged victorious in 27 consecutive men’s finals in which they had participated since 2002, whether in the Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Cup, or major international tournaments.
Remarkably, no Spanish club had lost a European final to a non-Spanish side in over two decades, making Chelsea’s triumph even more historic.
The streets of Wroclaw had been buzzing ahead of the final, with thousands of green-and-white-clad Betis fans filling the city centre.
However, tensions flared earlier in the day, leading to clashes between rival supporters. Poland’s interior minister later confirmed that 28 arrests had been made following disturbances in the city’s market square.
Chelsea’s victory not only capped a landmark campaign but also delivered a powerful statement as the club enters a new era under Maresca, with European glory once again part of the Stamford Bridge narrative.
