Proud Maresca building Blues' 'winning mentality'

THE UEFA Conference League was not where Chelsea wanted to be, but their triumph in Wroclaw could prove to be a turning point for a club that had lost their trophy-winning habit.

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The Premier League team beat Real Betis 4-1 on Wednesday, recovering strongly from being outplayed in the first half by their Spanish opponents.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's second-half substitutions lifted his team, but an inspired Cole Palmer was the catalyst for victory, producing two pinpoint crosses for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson.

Jadon Sancho' fine finish made it 3-1 and Moises Caicedo added a fourth in stoppage time to give Chelsea their first silverware since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired the club in May 2022 from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

During the past three years the owners have spent more than £1 billion on promising young talent, but until now have had little to show for it.

Chelsea had been clear favourites to win Europe’ third-tier club competition from the start, enabling Maresca to field youth and fringe players.