Chelsea 1-0 Djurgarden (agg 5-1): Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall strikes as Blues cruise into Conference League final
Chelsea ensured there was little drama as they booked their place in the Conference League final with a 1-0 win over Djurgarden at Stamford Bridge.
Having won the first leg 4-1 in Stockholm, Enzo Maresca rotated his side with an eye on this weekend's trip to Newcastle, a crucial match in their bid to secure Champions League football.
The Blues will hope to have a European trophy to go with that, after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's first-half strike extended the already sizeable aggregate lead and saw them safely through to the final in Poland later this month.
They will now face Real Betis, in what will be Chelsea's toughest test yet in this competition but one they are still firm favourites to come through and lift the trophy.
It was a measure of this most unusual European season, in which Enzo Maresca's side have coasted to the showpiece in the Polish city of Wroclaw using largely their second string and swatting aside teams from Armenia, Kazakhstan and the Republic of Ireland, that 10 players were left out from Sunday's win over Liverpool and a full debut was handed to 16-year-old midfielder Reggie Walsh.
The academy graduate, who became Chelsea's third youngest-ever player in Stockholm a week ago, is yet to sit his GCSEs but starting in Cole Palmer's usual number 10 role he gave a schooling to Djurgarden with some lovely touches of the ball that hinted at what might lie ahead.
There were no chances of note until the 27th minute when Dewsbury-Hall's shot from the edge of the box was saved after clever footwork from Tyrique George.
The 18-year-old, already with two Chelsea goals to his name, then linked up via a deft one-two with Walsh down the left and struck low across goal, goalkeeper Jacob Rinne's outstretched boot deflecting the ball clear of danger.
There was a new role for Marc Cucurella, starting the game in the centre of midfield and bringing measure and calibration to the team, a reminder once more of the pivotal role the once-maligned left-back now plays after a transformative season.
Indeed there has been much change and improvement at Chelsea in recent months, and shortly before the break Dewsbury-Hall gave a glimpse of how far he personally has come since his difficult early weeks after arriving from Leicester.
George played the pass beautifully into Dewsbury-Hall's path, and after a few assured steps to move past the defence and make space the ball was dispatched coolly against the inside of the post and in.
George might have made it a perfect night in the second half but somehow contrived to miss spectacularly from almost on the goal line from Jadon Sancho's cross.
Additional reporting by PA Sport.
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