Just as the first trophy of Chelsea’s BlueCo era was slipping away, and their critics were readying their barbed reminders that there were more than a billion reasons why they should never have lost the Conference League, Cole Palmer turned it on like the great ones can.
They were his two crosses in the 65th and 70th minutes – one with his left foot, the other with his right, both equally exquisite – which spun this final on its head and in doing so, Palmer ensured this was the night that Chelsea completed their collection.
They are the European Grand Slammers. They have won it all, every competition they have ever entered under UEFA. It looked unlikely at 1-0 down, with Manuel Pellegrini having outsmarted his former protégé Enzo Maresca up until Palmer activated ‘Cold’ mode.
His first cross led to a header from Enzo Fernandez: 1-1. His second cross initially involved the silkiest of turns to fool Jesus Rodriguez as he then found Nicolas Jackson, who was fortunate in how the ball bounced off his chest and beyond Real Betis goalkeeper Adrian: 2-1.
Of the £1billion-plus spent since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover three years ago, no signings have shown their worth more than Palmer, and it was then that Chelsea truly showed their superiority with Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo scoring their third and fourth goals.
Good luck telling Chelsea that this trophy does not matter as their 11,000 supporters in attendance sang in their thousands: ‘We’ve won it all.’ They will hope it is the first of many, with co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali among those celebrating on the field at full-time.
Chelsea won the UEFA Conference League after beating Real Betis 4-1 on Wednesday
Enzo Maresca clinched a trophy in his maiden season at Chelsea after their comeback
Cole Palmer was the architect for Chelsea’s first two goals and helped inspire the comeback
Chelsea supporters were outnumbered by their Betis counterparts in Wroclaw as the Spaniards arrived in their tens of thousands, turning the Salt Market Square green and white and singing and banging the windows of the No 19 tram as it whizzed by.
Save for 28 wrongdoers who were arrested amid violent clashes – they were given a good soaking by the Polish police’s water cannon which presumably swiftly sobered them up – the atmosphere was jovial.
This was Betis’ first-ever European final and really, they represented what the Conference League was created for. UEFA wanted to give the smaller guys a chance at glory, with West Ham and Olympiacos the last two romantic winners of Europe’s third-tier competition.
Betis were a beautiful story, a side of cast-offs coming together in search of history. Giovani Lo Celso was sent away by Tottenham Hotspur, who took a £17million hit when they sold him back to Betis. Hector Bellerin was not needed at Arsenal, who allowed him to leave for nothing.
Antony was ousted by Manchester United, who deemed him an £86m mistake. He has restored his reputation on loan at Betis, and his fellow former Premier League representatives included Adrian, Pablo Fornals, Romain Perraud, even Pellegrini as manager.
For Maresca, Chelsea’s true final was on Sunday at Nottingham Forest, a game they won 1-0 to finish fourth in the Premier League and secure Champions League football.
This? This was a bonus, a chance to celebrate winning a competition they never want to be in again.
Maresca took a risk, benching Reece James and Levi Colwill in favour of Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiashile. Gusto’s first 10 minutes made him look like a fan had won a competition to play in this final, and it was his poor pass which left Isco in possession.
Manuel Pellegrini and his side came up short in their battle against the Blues in Poland
Enzo Fernandez got Chelsea’s comeback underway as they beat Real Betis 3-1 on Wednesday
The Argentinian drew the Blues level in the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis
Nicolas Jackson gave Chelsea the lead six minutes later after heading home from close range
Abdessamad Ezzalzouli opened the scoring with a well-taken strike at the Tarczynski Arena
However, Maresca rallied his troops at half-time and got the reaction he was looking for
A five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid and now Betis’ 33-year-old captain, he spied how Gusto was no longer manning his right-back berth after inverting into midfield.
Isco’s shrewd ball into that space set up Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, who scored as the Betis bench spilled on the pitch in celebration.
Chelsea had managed 70 per cent possession as the first half came to a close, but had not created any noteworthy chances.
Maresca mended his mistake at half-time, replacing Gusto with James. Chelsea’s captain led a huddle before we got going again.
The Blues had covered 17,500 miles along the road to Wroclaw, including one almighty December trip to Astana in Kazakhstan.
They had 45 minutes to make all that mileage worthwhile, and wanted a penalty in the 55th minute when Adrian clobbered Jackson while clearing a cross. Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto was unmoved.
After 65 minutes came a cross from Palmer, a header from Fernandez, and an almighty eruption from the end behind the Betis goal. It was 1-1 and suddenly, Chelsea were on top.
In the 70th minute, Palmer turned Betis substitute Rodriguez. He crossed and found Jackson. Chelsea’s striker tried to head it in and timed it wrong. The ball struck his chest but still beat Adrian.
Jadon Sancho scored Chelsea’s third with a stunning curling effort late in the match
Thousands of Betis fans in Wroclaw, Poland celebrated the final’s opening goal
Cole Palmer dazzled for Chelsea in the second-half and created both of their goals
A knee slide followed from Jackson. He owed his team-mates a goal after his red card at Newcastle left them in the lurch two weeks back, and however it went in, he delivered.
After 77 minutes, Jackson made a mess, however. He was through with only Adrian in his way. He even had Sancho to his right and an open goal awaited if he picked that pass. A heavy touch saw Jackson gift the ball to Betis’ goalkeeper as he was then substituted through injury.
In the 83rd minute, Sancho shimmied and scored. In the 91st, Caicedo got their fourth from 20 yards. He was named Chelsea’s player of the season, but this final was Palmer’s.
Fourth in the Premier League and winners of the Conference League? This can only go down as a good first season under Maresca, no matter what his critics may say.