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.
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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.
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