Widely mocked, wildly celebrated - how Chelsea won the Conference League

Many wondered really overmuch winning nan Conference League would mean to Chelsea - but location were fewer doubts astatine nan last whistle.

Nearly each play nan Blues person walked complete their guidance successful Uefa's third-rated tournament, but they were really tested by Real Betis successful Wroclaw, particularly successful nan first half.

However, 4 second-half goals were each wildly celebrated - and nan players past partied aft the 4-1 win arsenic overmuch arsenic if they had won immoderate different awesome trophy.

Cole Palmer, nan man of nan match, group up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson, pinch Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo besides netting.

"Winning this trophy is massive," said erstwhile Blues keeper Mark Schwarzer, a BBC Radio 5 Live summariser for nan game.

"You tin spot what it intends to them and really important it is to triumph it.

"This is what it's about. It's astir creating that enslaved and that acquisition of winning a trophy."

It was Chelsea's first trophy since nan Fifa Club World Cup successful February 2022 and their first considered a awesome prize since nan 2021 Champions League.

The club's erstwhile midfielder Joe Cole, watching for TNT Sports, said: "People move their noses up astatine it but look astatine each nan smiling faces among nan players, nan staff, nan fans. This is what it is each about."

Fellow pundit Lucy Ward added: "People mock this trophy but this will mean a batch to this group of Chelsea players because it is simply a level to move connected into nan Champions League this season."

BBC Sport takes a look astatine nan communicative of Chelsea's Conference League campaign.

Chelsea's European run really almost ended successful August.

The Conference League is nan only 1 of Europe's competitions wherever English clubs person to spell done a play-off round.

The Blues led Servette 3-0 connected aggregate 14 minutes into nan 2nd leg, having won 2-0 astatine Stamford Bridge and taken an early lead successful Geneva.

But Servette pulled 2 goals backmost and, aft a hold successful nan crippled arsenic fireworks were fto off, nan hosts almost scored successful nan 94th infinitesimal to unit other time.

"This benignant of game, astatine nan end, you person galore things to suffer and not galore things to win," said leader Enzo Maresca afterwards, pursuing conscionable his 4th crippled successful charge.

Rotating and resting players successful secondary cups is not a caller arena - but Chelsea took it to a caller level successful nan Conference League this season.

They averaged 8.5 changes per European game, based connected their erstwhile Premier League line-up.

In nan convention shape location was a recognised Premier League squad and a Conference League XI - pinch very small overlap. They were overmuch changed successful nan home cups too, though fell astatine nan 2nd hurdle successful both.

England guardant Palmer, their prima player, was not moreover registered successful Europe until nan knockout games.

As nan Blues started playing successful knockout games they started utilizing much first-team players, for illustration Palmer, Caicedo and Marc Cucurella.

But moreover done that they ne'er made less than 5 changes from their past convention game, including nan final.

As nan play ends, well, until adjacent month's Fifa Club World Cup, 18 Chelsea players featured successful much Conference League than Premier League games this season.

That includes 5 players who near nan nine successful January.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who played each 15 European games, featured 13 times successful nan league.

Marc Guiu, whose six goals were 2 awkward of nan Conference League Golden Boot, has yet to commencement a convention game.

However, nan last saw a stronger XI, pinch only 4 outfield changes from nan broadside that hit Nottingham Forest past Sunday to clinch a Champions League spot.

"Chelsea person sewage truthful overmuch much money than anyone other competing successful this competition," said ex-Blues winger Pat Nevin connected BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But they person respected nan title by saying, 'we're not going to put retired nan softest of teams but we'll put retired capable to make judge we'll get through'.

"I person to say, looking backmost connected it each now, Enzo Maresca has done a awesome job."

Chelsea person fixed plentifulness of youngsters crippled clip successful nan Conference League this season.

Six players who person yet to make their Premier League debut person featured successful Europe for them this season.

That includes 16-year-old Reggie Walsh, who became Chelsea's youngest subordinate since 1967 erstwhile he played some legs of their semi-final against Djurgarden.

Eight academy players person made their debut successful nan competition, pinch 13 appearances for 19-year-old guardant Tyrique George, compared to 11 successful home games.

Seven of 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong's 9 starts for Chelsea person been successful nan Conference League.

"It's decidedly a stepping chromatic to men's football," he said of nan Conference League.

Samuel Rak-Sakyi, 20, played 4 times successful nan convention phase, but his astir elder home shot has been successful nan EFL Trophy pinch Chelsea's under-23s.

However, pinch nan trophy connected nan line, nary of them featured successful nan showpiece against Betis.

Chelsea played a fewer unfamiliar names this play successful Europe's third-tier tournament.

Before Real Betis, nan only squad from Europe's apical 5 leagues they met were Heidenheim, who ended nan play playing successful nan German relegation-promotion play-offs.

"The truth Chelsea are now coming aft we've won nan first 3 games is honestly rather difficult to believe," said Heidenheim leader Frank Schmidt, who has been successful complaint since they were a fifth-tier broadside successful 2007.

"But nan truth is they're not coming present for a friendly, we don't person to salary them. It's a competitory fixture. Heidenheim and nan full region are really excited."

Chelsea welcomed Armenian broadside FC Noah, named aft nan biblical characteristic pinch nan ark, to Stamford Bridge.

"Being successful nan Conference League is simply a spotlight for nan club, to show ourselves to European football, because now everybody knows who Noah is," said Noah leader Rui Mota.

"It's an honour to person this game."

Then came their longest ever European trip, a 7,000-mile information travel to Kazakhstan to play Astana.

The formation took 8 hours, having to debar a nonstop formation way complete Russia, Ukraine and nan Middle East, amid aggregate ongoing conflicts. Many first-team players were near successful London.

With a five-hour clip area difference, nan Blues acted arsenic if they remained connected UK time, making nan kick-off 15:30 alternatively of 20:30 section clip - and past nan crippled was played successful -11C.

Maresca and 2 board wrote a missive to nan Chelsea fans who attended, personally thanking them.

And they moreover had large talking points until nan semi-finals and their lucifer connected nan integrative transportation of Djurgarden.

Even nan Swedish side's head called his ain side's transportation "horrible", though it did not origin problems successful nan end.

That Servette scare successful August was nan closest Chelsea came to going retired each season.

They cruised done successful different ties, pinch each group crippled won by 2 aliases much goals. Every knockout tie, including nan final, was won by 2 aliases much goals.

The biggest triumph was nan 8-0 rout of Armenian broadside FC Noah successful November. That was nan joint-second biggest triumph successful Chelsea's history and nan Conference League's biggest triumph truthful far.

That took them to 16 goals successful their first 3 convention games, and ended connected 26 successful six games. Including nan qualifiers, they netted 45 times successful 15 games.

The Noah occurrence led ex-Blues and England midfielder Cole to opportunity connected TNT Sports: "Chelsea shouldn't beryllium successful this competition, but this is wherever they are.

"This tourney doesn't commencement for Chelsea until nan quarter-finals aliases semi-finals. They are monolithic favourites to triumph it and they should be."

They ne'er trailed successful immoderate knockout round, beating Copenhagen 3-1 connected aggregate, Legia Warsaw 4-2 and Djurgarden 5-1.

Trailing to Abde Ezzalzouli's extremity astatine half-time successful nan last gave them a scare - but they took bid aft nan break.

After a 5-1 triumph complete Shamrock Rovers successful December, nan Irish side's head Stephen Bradley said: "If they want to, they tin show up and astir apt put different 2 XIs retired location and triumph this competition.

"If they're successful nan Champions League they could spell adjacent to winning that. That's nan level they have."

Previous Conference Leagues person been celebrated hugely.

Roma, nether Jose Mourinho, ended a 14-year trophy drought erstwhile they hit Feyenoord successful 2022.

Jarrod Bowen's last-minute victor for David Moyes' West Ham against Fiorentina successful 2023 earned nan Londoners a first trophy successful 43 years.

By beating Fiorentina past year, Olympiakos became nan first Greek broadside to triumph a European nine trophy.

But for Chelsea - nan first winners utilized to lifting erstwhile European silverware - it did not consciousness nan aforesaid successful nan build-up. They did not moreover waste retired their 12,500-ticket allocation for nan final.

But location were nary muted celebrations astatine nan extremity arsenic their players, unit and fans wrong nan stadium appeared to bask it arsenic overmuch arsenic thing other they person won.

Defender Levi Colwill, 22, said: "You tin spot nan measurement nan fans are celebrating now, it shows really overmuch it intends to them."

So what next?

"The Chelsea fans are very demanding because they are utilized to winning," added Cole, who won 3 Premier Leagues pinch nan Blues.

"Now they person seen this squad win, they person much belief, nan players person much belief. I consciousness for illustration location is simply a really bully era coming."