Chelsea Win 2024–25 Conference League After Comeback Victory in Final | OneFootball

Chelsea came from behind to claim the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League trophy, beating Real Betis 4–1 in the final in Wrocław on Wednesday.

The Blues had been the heavy favourites to lift European football’s tertiary trophy all season and left their biggest names out of the early rounds of the competition.

But when it came to the final, a strong Chelsea XI was no match for a well-drilled Betis side in the first half. Ex-Barcelona talent Abde Ezzalzouli scored a fine opener for the Spanish side and they were good value for that lead going into the halftime interval.

At that stage, few would have bet against Manuel Pellegrini, now 71, becoming the oldest ever coach to win a major European trophy. That was the fairytale narrative for the neutrals, with Betis chasing their first continental silverware after years spent in the shadow of fierce city rivals Sevilla.

But while Enzo Maresca certainly didn’t take the final lightly with his original selection, he had options on the bench that he made full use of. Reece James emerged at the break, followed not long afterwards by Jadon Sancho and Sunday’s matchwinner, Levi Colwill.

It seemed to make a difference as momentum started to shift in Chelsea’s favour, putting a stranglehold on Betis and affording Cole Palmer a platform from which to leave his mark.

Two Palmer crosses in the space of five minutes midway through the second half completely changed the final. The first was perfectly flighted onto the head of Enzo Fernández in the middle of the box. The second was drilled towards Nicolas Jackson, whose finish was a little unorthodox as the ball deflected into the net off his chest, rather than his head as intended.

How it went in mattered little to Chelsea, who by then had simply overpowered Betis. Jackson should have put the game to bed with just over 10 minutes to play, through on goal with Fernández in support, only for a heavy touch at the crucial moment to lose the chance.

Sancho, who was on the losing side in last season’s Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, then did make it three. Betis were stretched and tiring, providing the winger with a still uncertain future with the space to bend a powerful effort into the far corner. The game was already won, but Moisés Caicedo really put the icing on the cake with a clinical fourth in stoppage time.

For Chelsea, it is a ninth European trophy—Liverpool (13) are the only English side to win more—and a complete set of all three current major UEFA competitions, having previously won the Champions League and Europa League twice each.