Chelsea wins Conference League to complete set of UEFA titles in liftoff for American owners
Chelsea finally has a trophy to show for the unprecedented levels of spending under its American owners, even if it's hardly one they'd have craved.
The English club produced an impressive second-half rally to beat Real Betis 4-1 in the final of the Conference League on Wednesday, becoming in the process the first team to have all four of UEFA's club competitions in its trophy collection.
Aside from the 1971 and 1998 titles in the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup, Chelsea's other European silverware — the Champions League in 2012 and 2021 and the Europa League in 2013 and 2019 — came in the trophy-laden tenure of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
The Abramovich era ended in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Chelsea was bought by a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly that has since spent around $1.3 billion on new players in a high-risk move to remodel the squad with mostly young stars.
Some of them delivered in the turnaround against Betis, with Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson converting pinpoint crosses from Cole Palmer in the 65th and 70th minutes, respectively, before substitute Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo added more goals in Wroclaw, Poland.
Boehly went on the pitch after the final whistle to congratulate Chelsea's players after club captain Reece James lifted the trophy to a backdrop of ticker tape and loud roars from teammates in the middle of the field.
"Coming into this competition, it was something we had to win," James said of the Conference League, Europe's oft-maligned third-tier competition. "Next season we go again in the Champions League."
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