Chelsea defeated Real Betis 4-1 in the 2024/2025 UEFA Conference League Final to become the first club to win all three of Europes major continental trophies.
With this win, they also became the first foreign side to deny a Spanish team in a European final since 2001.
For Chelsea, the season had already become successful in the end, earning a UEFA Champions League spot in the Premier League.
Now, theyve added to that success by lifting a European title, too.
On the other hand, Real Betis were unlucky in facing a powerful team like Chelsea in the Final.
Although they did their best to win and were even ahead on the scoresheet during the first half, they failed to resist Chelseas attacking dominance in the second half.
That said, Real Betis’ defensive aspect is not one of their strengths as a team, and trying to play a defensive game does not really suit their teams characteristics and style.
In this tactical analysis article, we will explore what helped Chelsea turn the tables on Real Betis while looking at how Real Betis could have exploited their first-half better to “kill” the game before it was too late, especially when the injuries had a major impact on their performance in the second half of this years Conference League Final.
UEFA Conference League Final: Real Betis Vs Chelsea Lineups & Formations
But before diving into the tactical analysis, let us present both formations and lineups, knowing that there were a few changes compared to what was expected from both teams.
For Real Betis tactics, Manuel Pellegrini started the game using his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with Adrián as a goalkeeper and Youssouf Sabaly confirming his starting spot as opposed to the rumours that predicted his doubtful participation and the use of Aitor Ruibal on the right flank.
Ricardo Rodriguez was the starter on the left flank as expected, but was replaced by Romain Perraud at the start of the second half due to injury.
Marc Bartra and Natan were the two centre-backs, and they played 90 minutes.
In midfield, Pellegrini preferred to use Johnny Cardoso and Pablo Fornals as central midfielders, guaranteeing more attacking support.
This was especially true during the first half, when Fornals and Cardoso succeeded in supporting their team’s attacks, whether through key passing or shooting.
However, during the second half, both players’ impact was not as impressive as during the first half, given that they failed to stop Chelsea’s penetrations or cover all their attempts with success, especially on the wings, which contributed to conceding the first two goals.
Attacking-wise, Antony and Abde Ezzalzouli were the starters as expected, with Antony on the right wing and Ezzalzouli on the left.
Both players were shining, especially during the first half, when the team succeeded in doing what they master the most: high pressing and counterattacks from the wings.
Ezzalzouli was even the goalscorer of the team’s single goal, thanks to the advanced playmaker Isco’s outstanding assist.
Pellegrini started Cédric Bakambu as the striker, mainly because Cucho Hernández was unavailable due to a registration issue.
On the other hand, Enzo Maresca used the 4-2-3-1 formation as well, but with a few alterations in terms of starters.
He started the match with the Danish Filip Jörgensen as a goalkeeper instead of Robert Sánchez, and Malo Gusto as a right-back instead of Reece James.
This use of Gusto to play the defensive duel against Ezzalzouli was a mistake and an underestimation of Ezzalzouli’s abilities.
In our UEFA Conference League Final preview, we pointed out Ezzalzouli’s possible threat and how he can be a source of danger for Real Betis on the left wing.
It would have been wiser for Maresca to start the game with a more pacey and physically powerful right-back like James on that side, since he is more likely than Gusto to win the duels against Ezzalzouli, especially when knowing that Gusto was also instructed to join midfield and attack during the possession phases.
That attacking contribution impacted Gusto’s defensive performance, as he was unable to retreat in time to stop Ezzalzouli on most occasions, which also led to conceding the goal.
Maresca opted for Trevoh Chalobah and Benoît Badiashile as centre-backs and did not change them afterwards, while choosing Marc Cucurella for the left-back role.
In midfield, he selected Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo as central midfielders, as both players were fundamental in the team’s defensive and attacking phases.
It is sufficient to say that both players scored goals in this match to understand their attacking input and the impact they can have each time they advance to the final third.
Maresca made another starting line-up error by starting with Pedro Neto as a right-winger and leaving Jadon Sancho on the bench despite the latter’s more impactful dribbling and agility.
Although Maresca made the correct changes in the second-half to make up for the starting lineup decisions like this one, it would have been less tiring and complicated for the team to start with Sancho and Noni Madueke on the wings, as it would have facilitated the scoring process given that the trio Sancho-Cole Palmer-Madueke can be much more dangerous as we saw in the second-half.
It may not have been the best call to start with two left-footed wingers when having a right-footed inverted winger on the bench who can be much more dangerous when cutting inside and penetrating to the box, and Sancho confirmed that during the third goal.
Chelsea started the match with Nicolas Jackson in the striker position as expected.
Tactical Analysis: Real Betis Vs Chelsea - Conference Final
Real Betis vs Chelsea Line-ups Picture
Real Betis Decisive Finishing Misses
Real Betis succeeded in scoring first and were excellent from an attacking perspective during the first half of this years Conference League Final.
This was thanks to Isco’s dynamism and passing accuracy, Antony and Ezzalzouli’s exceptional work on both wings, and the attacking input of Fornals and Cardoso.
Yet, they still failed to kill the mat
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