Chelsea feel manager on right track after first trophy 22-year-old Delap favours move to west London Chelsea are closing in on the signing of the Ipswich striker Liam Delap and are plotting further key additions as they seek to mould a winning dynasty and help Enzo Maresca’s young side build on qualifying for the Champions League and their triumph in the Conference League. Maresca, who wants to use his team’s 4-1 victory over Real Betis in the Conference League final as a springboard for future success, enjoys the backing of the club’s hierarchy after a successful first year in charge and will not face demands to win the Premier League next season. Continue reading...

Chelsea beat Real Betis in the Conference League final on Wednesday, sealing a preseason ambition to lift the trophy that Reece James believed they had to win.

Real Betis paid the price for taking their foot off the pedal after an impressive first half in Wednesday's Conference League final defeat by Chelsea, said their inspirational captain Isco and veteran coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Chelsea sparked into life in the second half as they came from behind to win the Conference League with a 4-1 victory over Real Betis.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca seemed as surprised as anyone when he was told Mykhailo Mudryk had been spotted in Poland ahead of the club's Conference League final against Real Betis.

Chelsea head coach said: ‘He is here? I don’t know’ Banned forward spotted in city on eve of Betis match Enzo Maresca said that he had no knowledge of Mykhailo Mudryk, who was provisionally suspended by the Football Association after failing a doping test last December, turning up in Wroclaw before Chelsea’s Uefa Conference League final against Real Betis on Wednesday night. Mudryk, who has not featured since November, caused a stir when he was spotted in a steak restaurant in the city on Tuesday afternoon. The £88.5m Ukraine international was wearing Chelsea merchandise and posed for photographs with supporters. Continue reading...

Brazilian winger Antony wanted "revenge" when he arrived on loan at Real Betis after struggling to live up to his hefty price tag at Manchester United, Betis head coach Manuel Pellegrini said Tuesday.

Before kick-off, a giant banner dangled from the upper tier of the Trent End. It was an oversized brown tourist sign. “Destination: Europe,” it read. Below that, a flag of a camper van with Nottingham Forest scarves flickering out of the windows. For Forest, all roads from here lead to the Europa Conference League and not the Champions League, which Chelsea will play in next season after two years away. First, however, for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea, is a trip to Wroclaw, a final against Real Betis, in the competition Forest will grace for the first time next season. For Forest, it was impossible to avoid the sense of anticlimax, despite returning to Europe for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals of the Uefa Cup under Frank Clark in 1995-96. In the end, the biggest boost of the day probably arrived 15 minutes before kick-off, when Taiwo Awoniyi emerged from the tunnel. The striker, who required urgent abdominal surgery and was placed in an induced coma after colliding with a post here against Leicester, was given a hero’s welcome after walking on to the pitch tapping his chest and applauding all four sides of this stadium. Continue reading...

Maresca said he was not feeling any extra pressure ahead of a decisive three days during which his players will fight to seal their place in the top-five, before facing Betis in the Conference League final.

The Swedish side are clearly underdogs but they are still capable of hurting their Conference League opponents A visibly moved Bosse Andersson was trying to find the right words after Djurgården had beaten Rapid Vienna 4-1 away to reach the Conference League semi-finals. “I am just bloody proud,” the sporting director said in the end. “Real Betis, Fiorentina, Chelsea and … Djurgården in the semi-finals, that is unbelievable.” He is not wrong. Chelsea, Real Betis and Fiorentina are European heavyweights while Djurgården have two Swedish Allsvenskan titles in the past 20 years. The Swedish side’s previous best in Europe came 70 years ago – in 1955-56 – when they reached the European Cup quarter-finals, having beaten the Polish side Gwardia Warsaw in the only previous round. Continue reading...

Real Betis scored three goals in a first-half blitz to beat Girona 3-1 in La Liga on Monday and keep alive its hopes of European football next season.

Real Betis chief executive Ramon Alarcon has said he is "cautiously optimistic" that Antony will continue at the club beyond this summer.

When Antony was packed off on loan from Manchester United to Real Betis, the Spanish club were convinced they were signing a player who would improve the club's fortunes and not the forlorn figure who had struggled so badly in the Premier League.

Antony left Manchester United for Real Betis in the January transfer window on a loan deal, with Ruben Amorim hinting he has no place for the winger in his squad