Maresca, mission accomplished: his Chelsea is in the final as the clear favourite

Mission accomplished: Chelsea are in the Conference League final, the cup in which they are the big favourites and which will be played against Betis Sevilla on 28 May in Wroclaw, Poland. The return to Stamford Bridge against the Swedish team Djurgarden, accompanied in London by almost 5,000 very enthusiastic fans, was little more than a formality after the 4-1 first leg in Stockholm, but Maresca had asked his players to avoid making fools of themselves like the one against Legia Warsaw in the second leg of the quarter-finals (2-1 defeat after the 3-0 first leg and boos from the crowd) and this time Chelsea listened to their coach, controlling the game and closing with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's 1-0 in the 38th minute. Nothing extraordinary, but still a victory that allows Chelsea to focus on the sprint to the Champions League from the Premier League: this cup that they can't not win will be back on the radar after the end of the championship.

Even in the B version, Chelsea is clearly superior to Djurgarden, at their first European away match in England in their history. Maresca entrusted that mission to be accomplished to youngsters like Reggie Walsh, at 16 years and 200 days the youngest starter in Europe in the history of the Blues, and like the two 19-year-olds Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George, who invented the assist for the winning goal. The match also allowed for experiments, like Marc Cucurella as a midfielder next to Reece James and Malo Gusto as a right winger rather than a full-back. It worked well both because, experiments aside, Chelsea have now fully mastered the Maresca style, and because of the weakness of their opponent. Although the B team is the one he led to the final with a triumphal ride with 42 goals scored and 10 conceded, with 11 wins in 12 games (the only exception being the return match against Legia Warsaw), it is likely that Maresca will ask his starters to win the cup. Djurgardens remains the party, the first European semi-final in its history, the warmth of the fans who animated a challenge at Stamford Bridge otherwise meaningless. Squads like Chelsea remain out of reach, even if they use the reserves.

Chelsea controls the game from the start, but they have to wait until the 38th minute to move forward, when a splendid idea from George allows Dewsbury-Hall to slip between the two Djurgarden centre-backs and beat Rinne with a billiard shot. Maresca restarts with 17-year-old Mhueka in place of Cucurella, one of the starters to be preserved for the championship: the Blues remain in control of the game, Djurgarden is more enterprising, the Blues have other opportunities but the result no longer changes. And on May 28, Chelsea will play its first European final since 2021. With the obligation to win it.