Chelsea defeats Real Betis in Conference League final to make history in Europe

The Hindu

a day ago

A dominant Chelsea crushed Spanish side Real Betis 4-1 in the final of the UEFA Conference League to become the first team in Europe to win all the continental trophies on offer, on Wednesday (May 28, 2025).
Goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo helped the London side cap off a massive second-half comeback after being 0-1 down at the break. Chelsea has now won the Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Cup Winners Cup and the Conference League – the last one, a relatively new addition, was founded as the third-tier competition in 2021.
Betis were gunning for their first-ever European trophy and it seemed like they were on course to achieving it in front of their boisterous supporters in Wroclaw, Poland, but Chelsea showed why the team has been an outlier in the tournament right from the first match day. In all, Chelsea has scored 42 goals in 13 games in campaign, highlighting the gulf in class between the English side and every other team it faced in the competition.
The partisan crowd comprised mostly of travelling Betis fans, who provided a home-like atmosphere for their players to raise their level on a neutral ground. And the energy certainly powered the team in the first half as they challenged every ball with more intent and celebrated every time the Chelsea attack was broken down.
CHELSEA ARE YOUR 2025 UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS! 🏆#UECLfinalpic.twitter.com/1lpZLZ6Jw5 — UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) May 28, 2025
Veteran coach Manuel Pelligrini set up his team to play aggressively, exhibiting a pressing style that caught the young Chelsea side off guard. Abde Ezzalzouli grabbed the lead with a rifled left-footed finish in the 10th minute to swing the game in Betis's favour early in the game and send the fans into euphoria. Former Real Madrid star midfielder Isco was the orchestrator of the goal as he found Ezzalzouli on the counter, and the Moroccan found the net once again, just like he did in the semifinal against Fiorentina.
An ageing Isco, who suddenly seemed almost overqualified to play in Europe's third-tier competition, continues to display glimpses of his Madrid heyday, an uptick in form that has recently been rewarded with a return to the Spanish national team.
Chelsea, on the other hand, were error-prone and lacked cohesion in the final third of the pitch despite controlling a majority of the possession in the first half. The effects of the exhausting end-of-season run to claim a Champions League spot – which they eventually did on the final day of the Premier League – were evident in the side as the players looked spent and lacked accuracy in passing.
Second-half turnaround
The second half saw Chelsea grow into the game better, as the Blues pushed for the equaliser. An injection of pace and energy resulted in Enzo Fernandez bringing Chelsea back level in the 65th minute, thanks to a probing lob into the box from Cole Palmer. Fernandez charged into the box and glanced the ball into the back of the net.
Within five minutes, Palmer was the architect again. Shrugging off two defenders on the right, Palmer sends a cross straight into the path of the unmarked striker Nicholas Jackson for another headed goal past the hapless goalkeeper Adrian. Chelsea had their tails up and were suddenly in a punishing mood.
Jackson could have had a second goal about seven minutes later when he was clean through on goal with acres of space ahead, but a heavy touch gave the ball away as the oncoming Adrian snuffed out the chance.
And then, the much-maligned Jadon Sancho finally had his moment in the sun. In the 83rd minute, substitute Kiernan Drewsbury-Hall dribbled into the Betis box and slipped the ball to Sancho on his left, who controlled the ball and found the far right corner for his first goal in the competition. The Manchester United loanee could be playing his last game for Chelsea.
The rout was complete in stoppage time as defensive midfielder got on the action to score the team's fourth goal, again on the counter attack. Caicedo smacked the ball low and hard from the edge of the box and the outstretched Adrian could not get a hand on it.
The win caps off a redemptive season for Chelsea, which is back in the Champions League and now has made history with multiple European trophies with one of the youngest squads in Europe.
Fan trouble
Ahead of the match, fan disorder in the Polish city led to 28 people being arrested, police said. Police had to use stun grenades and a water cannon against the teams' fans who were disturbing public order in the city, Polish state news agency PAP reported, adding that there were scuffles between supporters and bottles were thrown.