Enzo Maresca says Conference League victory a ‘starting point’ for Chelsea

Enzo Maresca said Chelsea’s victory in the Conference League final can be a “starting point” as he looks to guide the club back to former glories.

The Blues turned around a half-time deficit to triumph 4-1 against Real Betis in Wroclaw with Cole Palmer the key factor in turning the game around.

The England forward set up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson before Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo turned it into a procession, as the team built on their Champions League qualification on Sunday.

“Hopefully it can be a starting point to build a winner mentality,” said Maresca.

“You need to win games, you need to win competitions. And for sure, the trophy we won tonight is going to make us better.

“But also, I’m very proud about the path or the journey we have done in the Premier League. But for me, it’s the most difficult competition in the world. You have to be consistent in 38 games. And these players, they showed.

“That’s why after Nottingham Forest, my outburst was a little bit exaggerated. But the reason why is just because in 38 games, you need to be consistent. And with the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, it’s something unbelievable.”

Chelsea scored 45 goals in their 15 matches, including the play-off round, 19 more than Betis and the greater quality of Maresca’s side ultimately showed – though not before the Blues were given a mighty scare.

They looked overawed in the first half, Betis supporters creating a wall of noise and comfortably outnumbering Chelsea fans.

The atmosphere seemingly got to Malo Gusto, whose mistake let in Abde Ezzalzouli to score after nine minutes and who almost gifted a second to Johnny Cardoso who spurned a golden chance.

The game swung on five-minutes of brilliance from Palmer. Chelsea were seemingly sleepwalking towards defeat and to a miserable anti-climax following Sunday’s win over Nottingham Forest that clinched Champions League qualification, when from nowhere Palmer delivered a magnificent ball into the box that was head in by Fernandez.

The equaliser woke up Chelsea and spurred on Palmer. Within minutes he had set up Jackson with another excellent cross, and the striker adjusted his feet well to meet the ball with his shoulder and put Chelsea ahead.

It seemed to drain Betis and from there the Blues had it easy. Sancho came of the bench to bend a wonderful finish into the top corner and effectively seal it, then Caicedo landed a further blow on beaten Betis with a fourth in stoppage time.

“We all know that (Palmer) is a top player,” said Maresca.

“We need to help him to be in the right position in the right moment. And then he’s a quality player. He can decide with a goal or with an assist, and as you said, the two assists have been both very nice.

“I said many times, we’re going to try to win the competition where we are in, where we play. This season, many times, people were talking about Champions League, Europa League.

“But you cannot win that competition if you play conference. So our target was to win conference. Now, next season, we’re going to play Champions League. And we’ll see.”