Chelsea v Real Betis LIVE: Result and reaction as Blues fight back to triumph in Conference League final

 Chelsea secured their first silverware under Enzo Maresca and a clean sweep of European trophies as they thrashed Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final.

Enzo Maresca’s men were sluggish and looked out of ideas for much of the first half, and were blown away early on by the brilliant pairing of Isco and Abde Ezzalzouli, with the Moroccan latching onto a superb pass by Isco to slot home the opener in the ninth minute.

But Betis did not build on their lead and Maresca made some inspired substitutions, bringing on club captain Reece James at the restart to kick-start a Chelsea turnaround.

Cole Palmer was back to his brilliant best, assisting Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson inside five minutes in the second half to put the Blues in front, and they blew Manuel Pellegrini’s side away as the Spaniards faded.

Two more substitutes combined as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall squared to Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho, who curled a lovely finish past Betis keeper Adrian, before Fernandez teed up Caicedo in the final minute of normal time for Chelsea’s fourth. It was a performance of two halves for Chelsea but the second half was all that mattered as they sealed the title.

Conference League final LIVE

Chelsea thump Real Betis 4-1 in Conference League final

The Blues struggled in the first half but Cole Palmer inspired a second-half comeback

'9 GOAL! Ezzalzouli puts Real Betis in front early in Wroclaw [BET 1-0 CHE]

'65 GOAL! Fernandez heads in equaliser from Palmer cross [BET 1-1 CHE]

'70 GOAL! Jackson knocks Palmer cross in from close range to complete turnaround [BET 1-2 CHE]

'83 GOAL! Subsitutes combine as Sancho curls in lovely finish from Dewsbury-Hall cross [BET 1-3 CHE]

'90 GOAL! Caicedo sweeps home fourth for rampant Chelsea [BET 1-4 CHE]

How a Cole Palmer masterclass turned Chelsea’s Conference League nightmare into glory

22:32 , Flo Clifford

Chelsea’s season ended in glory in Wroclaw as they came from behind to beat Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final and deliver the first trophy of the Clearlake Capital ownership era.

Everything for En

In that window Cole Palmer turned a match the LaLiga side had enjoyed by far the better of into a Chelsea procession, setting up headers first for Enzo Fernandez then for Nicolas Jackson just as the occasion looked to have overwhelmed this young Blues team.

How a Cole Palmer masterclass turned Chelsea’s Conference League nightmare into glory

'I would always start' James - Maresca

23:08 , Flo Clifford

The Chelsea boss is dragged away from the celebrations to be interviewed on TNT Sports.

Asked why he didn’t start captain Reece James, he says, “I promise you, I would always start Reece but I'm trying to protect him. He's played more games this season than in the last two.

“He's happy, he's a top player. He's like Cole Palmer - but we need to manage him.

“When I brought him on, he said not to worry and that we'd win the game."

He adds that “we are going to try again” next season - only two tiers up, in the Champions League.