Chelsea beat Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final to claim the club’s ninth European trophy.
Enzo Maresca‘s men got off to a terrible start after allowing Abde Ezzalzouli to score in the ninth minute.
He gave Malo Gusto a torrid time before the right-back was taken off at half-time and replaced by Reece James. James’ introduction and the other changes Maresca made helped spark Chelsea‘s comeback, with Enzo Fernandez eventually equalising before Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo made it 4-1.
Jackson has come in for a lot of criticism following his red card against Newcastle United, but he was determined to make up for it.
Nicolas Jackson told Enzo Maresca he wanted to make up for Newcastle dismissal
Jackson’s sending off at St James’ Park could have been really costly. The Blues had to play their final two Premier League games without their first-choice striker as a result of it.
In the end, Chelsea were still able to qualify for the Champions League after beating both Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
Even so, Jackson was keen to redeem himself after his moment of madness. According to the Daily Mail, the 23-year-old told Maresca before the Conference League final that he wanted to make amends for his red card.
Putting Chelsea in front for the first time on the night, Jackson was able to do just that.
Jason Cundy tells Chelsea what they need to do to help Nicolas Jackson improve
While Jackson was able to score in what was a massive match for Chelsea, he can still improve at 23. And former Blue Jason Cundy thinks Chelsea must sign another striker to push the former Villarreal man.
Chelsea will have another shot at winning silverware when they travel to the US for the Club World Cup next month.
The Blues qualified for the competition after winning the Champions League in 2021. They could arrive at the tournament with at least one new signing amid links with Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap. Chelsea believe they can snap up Delap despite rival interest from Manchester United.
