Palmer leads Chelsea to win over Betis in Conference League final

Chelsea sparked into life in the second half as they came from behind to win the Conference League with a 4-1 victory over Real Betis at the Wroclaw Stadium on Wednesday, their revival inspired by the creativity of Cole Palmer.

Goals from Enzo Fernández and Nicolas Jackson -- both set up by the excellent Palmer -- plus late strikes from Jadon Sancho and Moisés Caicedo secured the silverware after Betis went in 1-0 up at halftime thanks to an early Abde Ezzalzouli strike.

The 23-year-old Palmer's two assists in five minutes during the second half turned the match around for Premier League club Chelsea and his efforts saw him named Player of the Match.

With the win Chelsea become the first team to have all four of UEFA's club competitions in their trophy collection.

Chelsea added the Conference League -- a third-tier competition only founded in 2021 -- to their Champions League titles in 2012 and 2021, their titles in the Europa League -- the successor to the UEFA Cup -- in 2013 and 2019, and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998.

"I thought in the first half we were flat," Chelsea captain Reece James, who came on at half-time, said. "The game didn't go our way early on and it looked like it took a lot out of us. We needed a reaction in the second half, and we got it."

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Betis appeared nervous in the opening minutes but eventually went in front when Isco found the unmarked Ezzalzouli at the edge of the box in the ninth minute, giving him plenty of time to break the deadlock with a powerful low shot.

Chelsea seized control of the second half, dominating the midfield and orchestrating a series of attacks that left Betis scrambling to hold onto their narrow lead.

The pressure bore fruit in the 65th minute when Fernández slipped between two defenders to head home a cross from Palmer for the equaliser and ignite a roar from the Chelsea fans.

Five minutes later, the match had completely turned around when Palmer cleverly wriggled past his marker near the byline to again deliver a cross that enabled Jackson to bundle the ball into the net off his chest and put Chelsea ahead.

Substitute Sancho made it 3-1 when he cut inside and curled a delightful shot into the far corner that gave goalkeeper Adrián no chance. Moisés Caicedo then added the fourth to seal the London club's seventh major European trophy.

Chelsea's victory ended a remarkable run of successes for Spanish teams in European men's title matches. Before this game, all 23 continental finals featuring Spanish clubs since the start of the 2001-02 season had been won by a Spanish team. That included four all-Spanish matchups.

Betis couldn't maintain it in a bid to win a European title for the first time.

Instead, it was Chelsea earning another piece of silverware to wrap up a triumphant end to the season for manager Enzo Maresca in his first year at the club. On Sunday, Chelsea secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League and now have a first trophy since its American owners -- Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital -- bought the team in 2022 and spent huge money remodeling the squad.

The match was preceded by fan disorder in the Polish city that led to 28 people being arrested.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.