Enzo Maresca puts Real Betis on hold as Chelsea boss relishes 'three finals' in Premier League
Enzo Maresca insisted Chelsea have 'three more finals' before the Conference League final, as their race for Champions League football continues.
The Blues set up a showpiece final against Real Betis in Wroclaw at the end of the month as they beat Djurgarden 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night to confirm a 5-1 semi-final aggregate win.
Chelsea have been favourites to win the Conference League ever since they entered the competition in the play-off qualification rounds in August and are now in the final.
But they are also chasing a place in the Champions League next season and know they must finish in the Premier League's top five to achieve it.
They must face two of the sides they are directly competing against in that race in their final three games of the league season — Newcastle on Sunday and Nottingham Forest on the final day — as well as hosting Manchester United on May 16.
'We were trying to work every day to reach the final, and now we are in the final,' a delighted Maresca said after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
'We have 20 days to prepare the final. Before that, we have three more Premier League finals.
'It's very important [to be in the final] because we can be the first club to win all the [UEFA] competitions.
'Hopefully we can win this trophy. But first the most important game for us is Newcastle. We are going to play the best XI for every game.'
There was a delay before Maresca arrived for his post-match press conference, with the Italian confirming it was because he was watching extra-time between Fiorentina and eventual finalists Betis in the other semi-final.
'I just finished watching the game inside,' Maresca said. 'I'm happy to face Betis, especially because of Manuel Pellegrini. He is one of my professional dads. I played for four years for Sevilla, which is a derby with Betis. I know they [Betis fans] don't love me.'
Maresca played under Pellegrini at Malaga and was his assistant manager when the Chilean was in charge of West Ham.
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