Chelsea will play Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final in Wroclaw on Wednesday 28 May.
The Blues progressed to the Poland showpiece courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate success over Djurgarden. We won 1-0 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge tonight courtesy of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s goal.
In Florence in Italy, Fiorentina needed to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of their semi-final against Betis.
Despite falling behind on the night, they did that before half-time to lead 2-1. With no further goals in the second period, the tie went to extra-time.
Abde Ezzalzouli netted in the 97th minute to hand Betis the initiative again, and they held on to advance to the final with a 4-3 aggregate triumph.
Real Betis are managed by the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, once of Manchester City. Enzo Maresca knows Pellegrini well, having played under him at Malaga and later worked alongside him at West Ham United.
Maresca has described the 71-year-old as one of his ‘professional dads’ and somebody who inspired him to get into coaching once his playing days were over.
Among the familiar faces in Betis’ squad are Antony, revitalised since joining on loan from Manchester United, experienced midfielder Isco, and ex-Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin.
We have played Betis on four previous occasions. In a Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final tie in 1997/98, we triumphed 2-1 in Seville, courtesy of a memorable Tore Andre Flo brace, before securing our spot in the semis with a 3-1 success at Stamford Bridge en route to lifting the trophy.
Seven years later, we beat Betis 4-0 at the Bridge and lost 1-0 at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in the group stages of the Champions League.
It will be the first European final in the history of Real Betis.
