Cole Palmer inspires Chelsea to victory in Conference League final

WROCLAW – The Uefa Conference League was not where Chelsea wanted to be, but their triumph in Wroclaw could prove to be a turning point for a club who had lost their trophy-winning habit.

The English Premier League team beat Real Betis 4-1 on May 28, recovering strongly from being outplayed in the first half by their Spanish opponents.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca’s second-half substitutions lifted his team but an inspired Cole Palmer was the catalyst for victory, producing two pinpoint crosses for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson after Abde Ezzalzouli had scored an early goal for Betis.

Jadon Sancho’s fine finish made it 3-1 and Moises Caicedo added a fourth in stoppage time to give the Blues their first silverware since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired the club in May 2022 from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Maresca, in his first season at Stamford Bridge, said that he hoped winning the Conference League would be a launchpad for bigger and better.

“Hopefully, it can be a starting point to build a winning mentality,” the Italian said. “You need to win games. You need to win competitions.

“And for sure, the trophy we won tonight is going to make us better. But also, I’m very proud about the path or the journey we have done in the Premier League (finishing fourth).

“For me, it’s the most difficult competition in the world. You have to be consistent in 38 games. And these players, they showed it.”

Chelsea are the first club to win the full set of Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.

During the past three years, the owners have spent more than £1 billion (S$1.74 billion) on promising young talent, but until now have had little to show for it.

Chelsea had been