Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella have shared their delight following Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League final win.
The Blues came from behind in Wroclaw on Wednesday evening to beat Real Betis 4-1. Abde Ezzalzouli gave Betis an early advantage and the Spaniards still led at half-time, but Palmer inspired Chelsea’s comeback, setting up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson as the Londoners turned the game around in the space of five minutes.
Substitute Jadon Sancho then scored a fine third before Moises Caicedo sealed it as Chelsea became the first club to have won the Champions League, Europa League and the Conference League.
Cucurella was delighted to lift the trophy and dedicated the night to the supporters. “We came through tough moments and I think the fans deserve this moment as well,” the defender told Chelsea’s official website.
“The fans stayed with us in the tough moments and today is a present for the fans. We showed character, desire and we showed we wanted to win. To play for this club is always amazing and we want to fight for big things and today we played a final and we achieved something important.
“We feel very happy. I think we deserve this moment and we have been working hard for this moment since a long time ago, and we have achieved something important. We struggled a little bit at the beginning but then we showed character we showed desire and then we came back in the game.”
Asked for his verdict on the 2024/25 campaign, the left-back added: “It was a good end to the season. I think we achieved two important things and both our objectives from the beginning of the season. I think we worked hard every day for this moment and I think we showed that we are ready to fight for more titles.”
Chelsea qualified for next season’s Champions League with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest last Sunday. Palmer believes finishing in the top five, plus winning the Conference League, shows the mental strength within the squad.
He said: “It’s a good feeling for us and the fans. We picked up the intensity in the second half and put on a good performance.
“I think we showed on Sunday we could go to a tough place and win and tonight, even when we were losing, I felt we showed good character again to come back.”
He added: “In the early stages [of the Conference League] it wasn’t too bad to not be involved because the team had to go to Kazakhstan, and you can ask Tosin, they didn’t enjoy it with an eleven-hour flight! But to come into the tournament and now win it, it’s an amazing feeling.”
