Chelsea will face Real Betis in the final of the UEFA Conference League after a 1-0 win over Swedish side Djurgarden on Thursday sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory in their last-four tie.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struck the only goal at Stamford Bridge late in the first half on a night 16-year-old Reggie Walsh became the youngest player to start a European game for Chelsea.

The Blues can become the first club to win all three of UEFA’s current competitions if they beat Betis in Wroclaw on May 28.

“Very happy, the job is done tonight and now we have almost 20 days to prepare for this final and hopefully we can win this trophy,” Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca told TNT Sports.

Chelsea haven’t won a major trophy since the 2021 Champions League, but captain Reece James believes the club are heading back towards the top after a challenging period.

“We’re in another final but it is probably something we excepted coming into the game and we expect to win the competition as well. Winning the trophy would be a huge achievement,” said James.

“We are definitely moving in the right direction. We’re knocking on the door for Champions League next season, the table is tight and I have no doubts.

“We had a good result against Liverpool and hopefully we can keep momentum going and finish the season strongly.”

Defender Marc Cucurella was the only player retained from the team that beat champions Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend as Maresca made sweeping changes to his line-up with an eye on Sunday’s crucial game at Newcastle.

The Italian has been criticised for his cautious tactics but he has fifth-placed Chelsea on course to qualify for the Champions League via a top-five finish in England.

Teenage midfielder Walsh made his debut off the bench in the 4-1 win in Stockholm a week ago as Chelsea seized control of the tie, but that result didn’t deter some 6,000 Djurgarden fans from making the trip to London for the second leg.

© Agence France-Presse

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