AFCON 2025
Chelsea are the new champions of the UEFA Conference League after a breathtaking second-half display over Real Betis in Poland.
Despite going behind in the first half, Enzo Maresca’s men came out with a better momentum as they took apart the Spanish outfit.
Argentinian midfielder and 2022 FIFA World Cup winner, Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho, and Chelsea’s Player of the Season, Moises Caicedo, got on the scoresheet in the emphatic 4-1 win on Wednesday night.
English midfielder Cole Palmer proved his importance to the team in a big European match as he provided the assists for Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez’s goals.
Moroccan forward, Abde Ezzalzouli, put Real Betis into an early lead as he latched on to a pass from Isco. It wasn’t the finest of shots, but the ball ended inside the net.
Manuel Pelligrini’s men had Chelsea under siege in the early exchanges as Marc Betrab forced a save off Sanchez from a sublime one-time shot.
Johnny Cardoso had the chance to double the lead for Real Betis after going through on goal, but his shot went narrowly off target.
The first ended with Chelsea struggling to create meaningful efforts towards goal while Real Betis sat on their slim lead.
However, Real Betis were a shadow of themselves in the second half as the Blues took charge of the game. Enzo Fernadez bagged the equalizer with a header from Cole Palmer’s brilliant cross.
Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson doubled the lead five minutes later to put Chelsea ahead in the final, to the delight of their fans and the dismay of Betis fans.
Substitute Jadon Sancho destroyed Betis’ dream of grabbing an equalizer and dragging the match into extra time. The Manchester United loanee received a cool pass from Drewsbury-Hall in the box before burying the ball into the right corner to give Chelsea a 3-1 lead in the 83rd minute.
Moises Caicedo sealed the victory – “icing on the cake” as he scored the fourth goal in added time of the 90 as Chelsea set a monumental European record.
Chelsea are now the first team in history to win all five major European trophies – the UEFA Champions League (2012, 2021), the UEFA Europa League (2013, 2019), the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup ( 1970–71, 1997–98), UEFA Super Cup (1998, 2021) and the UEFA Conference League (2025).
