Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca looked ahead to facing his “professional dad” Manuel Pellegrini in the Conference League final after the Blues booked their meeting with Real Betis in Wroclaw on May 28.
Djurgarden were seen off with minimal hassle in the semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge, a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall goal late in the first half sealing a 5-1 aggregate win.
Maresca made 10 changes to his team with Sunday’s crunch Premier League visit to Newcastle in mind, and though qualification for the Champions League remains Chelsea’s primary objective the chance to cap his first season in west London with silverware is now tantalisingly within reach.
Made it happen.#CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/R5pb00upK7
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 8, 2025
First they must overcome a Betis side led by former Manchester City and Real Madrid boss Pellegrini, a former Premier League winner at the Etihad who managed Maresca late in his playing career at Malaga.
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“He is like one of my professional dads,” said Maresca, who also served as an assistant coach to Pellegrini at West Ham.
“(I learned) a lot, especially how to manage players and manage a squad. I had him four years, two as a player, two I was his assistant coach. I know exactly how he thinks about players.
“The most important thing is he’s honest, a good person. He always tries to be honest with players. I’ve tried to learn a lot about his way.”
Djurgarden were dispatched with relative ease following the 4-1 first-leg win in Stockholm, Dewsbury-Hall hitting the winner in the 38th minute, guiding the ball in off the inside of the post from Tyrique George’s pass.
At the start of this evening’s #UECL match, Chelsea FC were aware some away fans gained access to areas of the stadium in violation of our ticketing policy.
The Chelsea supporters sitting in the immediate areas impacted were relocated, with additional security and police… pic.twitter.com/rWyAPbDj0h
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 8, 2025
The night was marred by disruption caused when Djurgarden supporters who had bought tickets amongst home fans breached the barriers separating the two sections. Chelsea also confirmed a number of home supporters had been relocated with roughly 1,000 visiting fans remaining seated in the home section of the West Stand.
Betis, though, are likely to pose a sterner test.
“We have 20 days now to prepare the final,” said Maresca.
“Happy to face Betis, especially because of Manuel. I played four years for Seville, the big derby against Betis. We won a derby 1-0 and I scored the goal, so I know they don’t love me.
“I met my wife in Seville, she’s from Seville. My first son was born in Seville.”
💚🇪🇺😁
¡¡¡𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗦 𝗘𝗡 𝗟𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟ⵑⵑⵑ#BetisAlé pic.twitter.com/rPrqPljGCh
— Real Betis Balompié 🌴💚 (@RealBetis) May 8, 2025
The win over Djurgarden also saw 16-year-old Reggie Walsh – who is yet to sit his GCSEs – make his full debut in the number 10 role usually occupied by Cole Palmer.
“I love Reggie,” said Maresca. “He’s that kind of player that in my system, the way I want to play, he’s perfect. You struggle to find players so young. He’s 16 – one six. You see how he was asking for the ball, you can see how good he is on the ball.
“Tomorrow he has to go to school. It’s important for him, he has to continue that.”
Djurgarden boss Jani Honkavaara said: “I’m extremely proud of the guys, how we survived during these two game and occasionally competed quite well.
“Always you want a bit more but we came from a difficult background with these games.”