Chelsea Charges Towards the Conference League Final

English clubs had a fantastic evening on Thursday. In addition to victories for Manchester United and Tottenham, who made significant progress towards the Europa League final, Chelsea nearly secured their spot in the Europa Conference League final with a commanding 4-1 win over Djurgårdens IF in the first leg of the semi-final.

Taking advantage of a notably generous Swedish defense, the Blues scored twice in each half. Enzo Fernandez provided two crucial assists, first to Jadon Sancho (13th minute) and then to Noni Madueke (43rd minute). Three substitutes made a difference early in the second half, with Nicolas Jackson scoring from two assists by Cole Palmer (59th minute) and Moses Caicedo (65th minute). Young Isak Alemayehu Mulugeta, who came on late in the match, managed to score a consolation goal for the hosts (68th minute).

In the other semi-final, the suspense will be palpable in the return leg. Betis initially did their job to keep things interesting, with an early goal from Abde Ezzalzouli off the crossbar (6th minute) followed by a stunning goal from Antony, who has been reborn in Andalusia (64th minute). However, Fiorentina pulled one back shortly before the 15-minute mark, thanks to defender Luca Ranieri, who had already scored on the field in Celje back in April. The second act in Florence is set to be fiery next Thursday.