- Chelsea won the UEFA Conference League final with a 4:1 comeback victory over Betis
- Enzo Maresca praised the second-half response after a poor first-half showing
- The Italian coach called the trophy “just the starting point” for the young squad
Key Takeaways:
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was delighted after winning the trophy in the UEFA Conference League. His team defeated Betis 4:1 in the final in Wroclaw, despite trailing at halftime. The Italian admitted that his side did not approach the match well, but praised his players for their reaction in the second half.
“I’m very happy. I was a bit disappointed in the first half because I think we approached the game the wrong way. I expected a more serious attitude. It seemed like we were still overly joyful after the match with Nottingham Forest, because we had been waiting all season for that Champions League qualification. So in the first half we struggled, but in the second half we made changes, we were much better and now we’re very happy,” said Maresca.
CHAMPIONS!!! 🥉🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/U820sSBu13
— Enzo Maresca (@EnzoMarescax) May 28, 2025
“The message after the match with Nottingham was: ‘Guys, if we want to be a great team, what we did is done and we have to win the final.’ But that’s joy, fatigue, because we had 48 hours less than them — they played on Friday for nothing, we played on Sunday for a big, big goal, so I expected a bit of a drop-off. In the second half we played much better,” the Italian added.
“We improved a lot during the tournament. The most important thing is that we learned how to win ugly, even when we don’t play at our best. With such a young squad, that can be quite difficult.”
He also commented on his decision to leave captain Reece James on the bench at the start of the match: “I wanted to protect him.”
Finally, he shared what winning the Conference League means for the team.
“This is just the starting point. To build a winning mentality, you have to win matches, win trophies. The cup we won today will make us stronger in the future,” the coach concluded.