Dream Evening: Maresca Praises Chelsea Following Impressive Conference League Triumph

Chelsea cruised to a convincing 4-1 victory over Djurgarden in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League semi-final on Thursday, virtually securing their place in the final.

In the other semi-final, Real Betis from Spain holds a 2-1 advantage going into their return match against the two-time runners-up, Fiorentina.

Goals from Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke in the first half put Chelsea firmly in control in Sweden, with Nicolas Jackson scoring twice in the second half.

“It was a perfect night, a crucial semi-final,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca commented to TNT Sports.

“It’s a favourable result, but we have learned from our experience with the Legia Warsaw match, where we won 3-0 away but faced difficulties at home in the second leg (Chelsea’s only tournament loss came during that fixture), so we must stay focused for the return leg.”

Maresca’s team is one step away from the Conference League final in their inaugural season of this third-tier European competition.

Claiming the trophy in Wroclaw, Poland, on May 28 would add another continental title to Chelsea’s trophy cabinet, which already includes two Champions League titles, two Europa League titles, and two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups.

In contrast, Djurgarden does not possess the same level of European experience, but reaching the semi-finals made them the first Swedish team to do so since the 1986/87 season.

Further highlighting Djurgarden’s underdog status, coach Jani Honkavaara had only 14 senior players available for the visit from the Premier League side.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Sancho latched onto a lobbed pass in the box and expertly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper. A clearance attempt by Marcus Danielson unfortunately deflected off his own arm and into the net.

This goal settled Chelsea into their rhythm as they adapted to the synthetic surface in Stockholm, gradually asserting their dominance over Djurgarden.

Madueke made this dominance count two minutes before half-time, feinting a shot with his left foot before firing a first-time shot into the near post.

Jackson strikes twice

Just before the interval, Chelsea was nearly caught off guard when Djurgarden came close to equalising, but the English club’s Swedish-born goalkeeper, Filip Jorgensen, was quick on his feet, making a superb save to deny Tokmac Nguen’s deflected effort, resulting in a corner.

Jackson extended Chelsea’s lead to three goals just before the hour mark, tapping in from close range after a defensive error.

The Senegalese forward scored again six minutes later, firing a powerful left-footed shot from the edge of the box.

Djurgarden managed to grab a consolation goal in the 68th minute as teenager Isak Alemayehu Mulugeta scored with a powerful downward header for his maiden senior goal.

“We performed very well, and the critical thing is that we secured the win. It’s a step forward, and we hope to make it to the final,” expressed Jackson.

Meanwhile, in Andalusia, Betis had a great start when Abde Ezzalzouli’s shot hit the crossbar and went in just six minutes into the match, following some impressive hold-up play by Cedric Bakambu.

Fiorentina came close to equalising midway through the first half, but Rolando Mandragora’s powerful header narrowly missed the target, just skipping past goalkeeper Fran Vieites’ post.

Marc Bartra, the former Barcelona defender, had an opportunity to extend Betis’ lead at the end of the first half but shot over the bar from a corner.

Manchester United loanee Antony eventually found the net for the hosts with a fierce right-footed shot from outside the box that sailed beyond David de Gea and into the top corner in the 64th minute.

Fiorentina reduced the deficit against the run of play with 17 minutes left, as Luca Ranieri scored after being set up by Robin Gosens.

The second leg matches are scheduled for next Thursday.