Real Betis – Chelsea: Maresca’s Young Guns Crowned Conference League Champions (1-4)

Although Chelsea were favorites going into the Europa Conference League final, it was Real Betis that started strongly and gained the advantage. However, a spirited second-half display blew away the Spanish side as the Blues hit back with four. The historic achievement for Chelsea also marked a pivotal step of progression for Enzo Maresca’s project in west London.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

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Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis concluded their successful league season with a 1-1 draw against Valencia last Friday. Having finished sixth, Betis proved to maintain their consistency in La Liga. Over the past five seasons, the club has not dropped below seventh – establishing themselves as a mainstay in the senior Spanish division after earning promotion in the 2014-15 campaign. Betis also created history after defeating Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League semi-finals, as the club reached its first-ever European final.

As for the side from west London, Enzo Maresca’s Blues had a celebratory weekend as their narrow 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest pushed them into Champions League qualification for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign. A few torrid seasons later, Chelsea had the chance to mark another pivotal step forward, as the young, talented group had a chance to earn silverware and complete the European set – a feat that no team had achieved due to the introduction of the Conference League in 2021.

Despite having two days more rest than Chelsea, Pellegrini made four changes to the team that he fielded against Valencia. The backline only had one alteration. At right-back, Youssouf Sabaly was preferred ahead of Aitor Ruibal. At the base of midfield, Pablo Fornals was paired with Johnny Cardoso instead of Sergi Altimira. Lastly, there were two changes to the attacking unit, with Cédric Bakambu and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli featuring instead of Cucho Hernández and the young Jesús Rodriguez.

With Maresca’s side having only played on Sunday, he was expected to refresh the team. Most of the changes came to the backline, where only Marc Cucurella kept his place. In goal, Filip Jørgensen, who has been the goalkeeper of choice in the Conference League, was selected as Robert Sánchez featured in the Forest clash. Trevoh Chalobah, Benoît Badiashile, and Malo Gusto started instead of Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, and club captain Reece James. Finally, Nicolas Jackson, who was serving a match suspension in the Premier League, returned with Jadon Sancho benched.

Many forecasted Chelsea as the strong favorites for the final. However, the script did not pan out as predicted in the first half, with Betis landing a crucial blow.

Chelsea’s opportunities in build-up and Pellegrini’s pressing trap

With the Blues dominating possession, the overriding tactical theme in the opening period of the match was Chelsea’s build-up structure against Betis’ out-of-possession plan.

In deep possession phases, Jørgensen would join as a nominal right center-back whilst Chalobah pushed to the fullback zone. It meant that Gusto would tuck into midfield alongside Moises Caicedo to form a 4-2-5 shape.

Pellegrini wanted his side to press out of a 4-4-2 zonal block. However, as soon as Chelsea played the first pass to commence the move, the Betis frontline would lead their press with either the left winger, Ezzalzouli, or the left central midfielder, Cardoso, picking up on Gusto, whilst the other marked Cole Palmer between the lines.

Elsewhere, the Betis players would go man-for-man with one exception – Marc Bartra would leave Enzo Fernández free between the lines so that he could support Natan to double up on Nicolas Jackson, who offers a dangerous threat beyond the defensive line. So, the trade-off that Pellegrini was willing to accept was a penetrative pass into the World Cup winner rather than giving Chelsea the option of going long to Jackson, who would be one-versus-one against a center-back. To be fair to Betis, this plan did work out in the first half, as Chelsea struggled to find Fernández regularly.

Betis’ pressing structure allowed Fernández to have space between the lines to provide more defensive security against long balls to Jackson.

Chelsea could still bypass the frontline press. As they have evidenced this season, against teams that want to press them high, the Chelsea players have the capability to cut through. However, Gusto, on the night, had a terribly underwhelming performance. In the first half, there were numerous instances where he cheaply gave the ball away due to a lack of control with his touch or a misdirected pass. In a way, Betis was forcing Chelsea to try and penetrate the defensive block through the middle with the knowledge that they would not have James, who would not start two games back-to-back and is more suited in these zones than Gusto.

The first goal stems from a sequence where Gusto misplaces a pass that was meant to find Caicedo but instead was cut out by Fornals, who found Isco immediately. The former Real Madrid player had an excellent performance on the night, as he was all over the pitch and also provided a crucial contribution by setting up Ezzalzouli at the far post.

9th minute: Gusto’s error in build-up leads to a swift Betis counter with Ezzalzouli finding the back of the net.

Betis’ counters and settled possession phases

Although Pellegrini’s men spent very little time with the ball, in those brief spells, they showcased the potential to cause their opponents problems.

Through all three thirds, Betis used a 4-2-4 structure, but it forced different issues in the various phases. When they were building up, since Maresca either wanted Pedro Neto from the right wing to curve his run and press Natan, the left center-back, it left Ricardo Rodríguez free. In those moments, Adrián did well to loft a pass to find the spare man.

In other instances, Palmer or Jackson would leave the initial player they marked – either Cardoso or Fornals – to pressure the center-back. However, Natan and Bartra maintained their composure and found the free player. This was possible due to well-connected passing moves and Chelsea’s lack of pressing intensity.

Higher up the field, Betis’ 4-2-4 shape had a few dynamic movements that helped unlock Maresca’s mid-block. Firstly, Isco, who, as mentioned, had a solid game, would roam around the pitch to create overloads, help build up, and find space between the lines, which Chelsea found hard to defend. Additionally, the staggered double pivot of Cardoso and Fornals would confuse Caicedo and Fernández as they passed on marking responsibilities. These advantages allowed Betis to cut through Chelsea’s 4-4-2 block on a few occasions.

Subtle but significant half-time changes

The first half had very little in terms of attacking chances for both teams. Betis showed promise on a few counterattacks, whilst Chelsea looked toothless in the final third. Furthermore, the west Londoners were too static in possession. They lacked the tempo needed to pierce through the Betis 4-4-2 mid-block. Although they had a man advantage due to their 3-2-5 shape, it is pretty insignificant if that overload is not tapped into through quick and swift passing moves. More generally, they lacked any rhythm and struggled to build momentum.

Maresca had to alter the team at half-time, with Gusto understandably coming off for James. That was the only personnel change, but there were a few tactical tweaks. Firstly, as admitted by Maresca after the final whistle, Chelsea played more direct attacking sequences rather than their overly patient and slow play in the first half. Structurally, there were minor adjustments on and off the ball.

Rather than having a 3-2-5 shape constantly, James and Cucurella would step higher up the field when the Blues pinned Betis back. Thus, the 2-3-5 structure allowed them to pin the Spanish team back for prolonged periods, as the aggressive rest defense provided Chelsea with better foundations to counter-press. Additionally, Chelsea began pressing Betis man-for-man in build-up scenarios to further tilt the possession metrics in their favor.

For all of the tactical battles at play, it was Palmer’s initiative that not only provided the Blues with the breakthrough but also the lead. Two moments of sheer class and brilliance set up Fernández and then Jackson, with both deliveries coming from the half-space.

After that, Chelsea was in complete cruise control. Their game management was top-class, as they protected the 2-1 scoreline before increasing the margin with two goals from the substitutes Sancho and Caicedo.

Takeaways

Although it was heartbreak in the end for Pellegrini and Betis, their progression this season cannot be understated. They could not lift a trophy on Wednesday night, but they still have the opportunity to build on their European campaign, as they will play in the Europa League next season having qualified through the La Liga ranking.

For Chelsea, completing the European trophy set with a core of young players was a massive achievement as well as a sigh of relief. Ahead of the season, there were two main targets, and in the final week, Maresca and his team pulled through and delivered the results.

Match plots will be added as soon as possible.