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Cole Palmer’s Brilliance Fires Chelsea to Historic Conference League Crown

Chelsea’s long-awaited return to the winners’ podium arrived in Wrocław, where 39,754 spectators watched Cole Palmer flip the UEFA Conference League final on its head with two assists in five electric minutes. The 22-year-old first curved a teasing delivery that Enzo Fernández headed home on 65 minutes, then twisted past Jesús Rodríguez to lay a chest-high ball that Nicolás Jackson bundled over the line. Those passes made Palmer the first player since Marcelo in 2018 to supply a brace of assists in a major European final.

The numbers behind the drama underline Palmer’s influence. Chelsea dominated possession 66 % to 34 % and produced seven shots on target to Betis’ three, but five of those Blues efforts—including both of Palmer’s assists—came after the hour-mark, reflecting how the England international wrested control of a match that had been slipping away.

Palmer’s virtuoso cameo also ended his personal 18-match goal drought. While he had already stacked up 15 goals and eight assists in 37 Premier League appearances this season, none had arrived from open play since 14 January. Manager Enzo Maresca insisted the barren spell would “make him better,” and the final validated that faith.

Victory carried wider significance. Chelsea, who have invested roughly £1.1 billion in transfer fees since the Todd Boehly–Clearlake takeover, became the first club to complete the clean sweep of UEFA trophies—Champions League, Europa League, Cup-Winners’ Cup and now the Conference League.

Isco’s early artistry—four progressive passes and a pre-assist for Abde Ezzalzouli’s ninth-minute strike—had looked set to reward Betis’ first European final, yet Maresca’s double change at half-time, introducing captain Reece James and pushing Palmer higher between the lines, tilted the expected-goals tide from 0.43–0.41 at the break to an emphatic 2.18–0.91 by full-time. Late goals from Jadon Sancho and Moisés Caicedo iced the 4-1 comeback and ensured that the Londoners, already back in next season’s Champions League, ended a 1,201-day silverware drought in style.

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