Palmer brilliance inspires thrilling Chelsea comeback

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.

- ROBERT O'CONNOR

Everything for Enzo Maresca’s team hinged around a fiveminute spell midway through the second half.

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.

Until that point and against a wall of noise from the Betis end, Chelsea were outplayed and pegged back by an early goal from winger Abde Ezzalzouli.

Then came Palmer’s intervention, and once they led it was a simple matter of adding goals from Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo, as Betis’s energy failed them.

In the first half, Chelsea had gifted them the lead after just nine minutes.