Conference League final: Real Betis vs Chelsea facts

Real Betis and Chelsea are both bidding to lift the UEFA Conference League for the first time as they meet in the final at Stadion Wrocław in Poland.

Betis, the first Spanish side to reach the Conference League final, are aiming to win their first European trophy in their maiden continental final; by contrast, Chelsea could become the first club to win all five major UEFA competition titles.

The two teams have had contrasting routes to the final. Betis finished 15th in the league phase and came through a knockout phase play-off to reach the round of 16, winning one leg and drawing the other of each of their last three ties; Chelsea won all six of their matches to finish first in the league phase and have been victorious in five of their six knockout fixtures.

Manuel Pellegrini's Betis took on two-time runners-up Fiorentina in the semi-finals, winning 2-1 in their home first leg thanks to goals from Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (6) and Antony (64). However, a 2-1 deficit after 90 minutes in Florence took the tie to extra time, where Ezzalzouli scored what proved to be the winner five minutes into the additional half-hour to give Betis a 4-3 aggregate victory and a place in an historic first final.

Chelsea had a more straightforward semi-final tie against Swedish side Djurgården. A 4-1 away win in the first leg, thanks to goals from Jadon Sancho (13), Noni Madueke (43) and Nicolas Jackson (59, 65) put them firmly in control, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's fourth goal in this season's competition completing a 5-1 aggregate victory at Stamford Bridge in the second leg.

This is the 17th UEFA knockout final between teams from Spain and England; Spanish clubs have won 11 of the previous 16 including all of the last nine.

Previous meetings

Real Betis wins 1
Chelsea wins 3
Draws 0
Real Betis goals 3
Chelsea goals 9

1997/98 Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals
Real Betis 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea 3-1 Real Betis
Chelsea were 5-2 aggregate winners against Betis on their way to winning the trophy, Tore André Flo's early double setting up a 2-1 away first-leg victory and Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfrano Zola both among the scorers at Stamford Bridge.

2005/06 UEFA Champions League group stage
Chelsea 4-0 Real Betis
Real Betis 1-0 Chelsea
Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho were on target for Chelsea in the first half at Stamford Bridge with Joe Cole and Hernán Crespo wrapping up the win in the second. Betis turned the tables two weeks later in Seville, however, thanks to Dani's first-half strike – still their only win in their eight fixtures against English opponents.

Form guide

Real Betis

Record vs English clubs: W1 D1 L6 F5 A16

Betis' last meeting with English opposition came in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League round of 16 when they lost 5-1 on aggregate to Manchester United (1-4 a, 0-1 h). They have never scored more than one goal in their eight previous matches against teams from England.

The Spanish side finished 15th in this season's league phase (W3 D1 L2), earning a knockout phase play-off tie against Gent they won 3-1 on aggregate (3-0 a, 0-1 h). They next faced Portugal's Vitória SC in the round of 16, when a 2-2 home draw in the first leg in Seville was followed by a 4-0 away victory in which Cedric Bakambu scored twice and Antony and Isco once each.

Their victory against Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok in the quarter-final (2-0 h, 1-1 a) led Betis to their first UEFA competition semi-final, where they beat Fiorentina 4-3 on aggregate (2-1 h, 2-2 a aet).

That second-leg draw at Jagiellonia was Betis' second game in Poland. They had lost 1-0 at Legia Warszawa on Matchday 1.

Los Verdiblancos have lost just one of their last ten Conference League matches (W6 D3).

Pellegrini's team have opened the scoring in 12 of their previous 13 Conference League matches; Bakambu has seven goals in his last nine appearances in the competition.

Betis' record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W0 L2:
3-5 vs Universitatea Craiova, 1984/85 UEFA Cup first round
3-4 vs Sevilla, 2013/14 Europa League round of 16

Chelsea

Record vs Spanish clubs: W20 D18 L13 F73 A62

Chelsea have played more UEFA matches against teams from Spain than against any other country; this is their 52nd encounter with a Spanish club.

The Blues' last four meetings with Spanish opposition have all been Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid. They lost 0-4 on aggregate in 2022/23 (0-2 a, 0-2 h) having gone down 4-5 over two legs to the same opponents the previous season (1-3 h, 3-2 aet a).

Chelsea's only previous UEFA competition match in Poland was the first leg of this season's quarter-final, a 3-0 victory at Legia Warszawa.

This season the Blues won six out of six of their league phase matches to finish top, four points clear of any other team and with a record of 26 goals scored and just five conceded.

In the round of 16 they took on Danish side Copenhagen, winning 2-1 away and 1-0 at home.

Their quarter-final victory against Legia Warszawa (3-0 a, 1-2 h) led Chelsea to a 15th UEFA semi-final against Swedish side Djurgården, who they overcame 5-1 on aggregate to reach the final of the Conference League for the first time.

Chelsea have won each of their last four European knockout finals, including victories in the Champions League in 2012 and 2021. Overall, in their previous seven finals in the Champions League, Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup, their only defeat came on penalties to Manchester United in the 2007/08 Champions League.

The west London side have won 11 of their 12 Conference League games this season from Matchday 1 onwards, the exception a 1-2 home defeat against Legia in the second leg of the quarter-finals.

Enzo Maresca's team have scored 38 goals in the Conference League proper this season, a new record beating Fiorentina's total of 37 in 2022/23.

Chelsea's record in seven UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L4:
1-4 vs Liverpool, 2006/07 Champions League semi-final
5-6 vs Manchester United, 2007/08 Champions League final
4-3 vs Bayern München, 2011/12 Champions League final
4-5 vs Bayern München, 2013 Super Cup
4-3 vs Eintracht Frankfurt, 2018/19 Europa League semi-final
4-5 vs Liverpool, 2019 Super Cup
6-5 vs Villarreal, 2021 Super Cup

Previous UEFA finals

This is Betis' first appearance in a UEFA final.

Chelsea (W8 L3)
1970/71 Cup Winners' Cup W 1-1, 2-1 replay vs Real Madrid
1997/98 Cup Winners' Cup W 1-0 vs Stuttgart
1998 Super Cup W 1-0 vs Real Madrid
2007/08 Champions League L 1-1, 5-6 pens vs Manchester United
2011/12 Champions League D 1-1, 4-3 pens vs Bayern München
2012 Super Cup L 1-4 vs Atlético Madrid
2012/13 Europa League W 2-1 vs Benfica
2013 Super Cup L 2-2, 4-5 pens vs Bayern München
2018/19 Europa League W 4-1 vs Arsenal
2020/21 Champions League W 1-0 vs Manchester City
2021 Super Cup W 1-1, 6-5 pens vs Villarreal

Links and trivia

Pellegrini coached Enzo Maresca at Spanish side Málaga between 2010 and 2012 before hiring him as an assistant coach at West Ham from 2018 to 2020.

Pellegrini faced Chelsea nine times during his time coaching Manchester City (2013–16) and West Ham (2018–19), winning three, drawing three and losing three.

Pellegrini could become the first coach from Chile to win a major European trophy; he is the first from the country to reach a final since Fernando Riera guided Benfica to the 1963 European Cup decider.

Aged 71 years 254 days on the day of the final, Pellegrini could also become the oldest coach to win a major UEFA men's club competition final; the current record is held by Raymond Goethals, who was 71 years 231 days when he guided Marseille to victory in the 1993 Champions League.

Isco has won two previous UEFA finals against English opposition, his Real Madrid side beating Liverpool in the Champions League in 2017/18 (3-1) and 2021/22 (1-0). The Spanish midfielder has won all five of his previous European finals.

Antony is on loan at Betis from Premier League side Manchester United; the Brazilian has lost just one of his four meetings with Chelsea (W2 D1).

Have also played in England:
Adrián (West Ham 2013–19, Liverpool 2019–24)
Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal 2012–21)
Diego Llorente (Leeds United 2020–23)
Romain Perraud (Southampton 2021–23)
Pablo Fornals (West Ham 2019–23)
Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham 2019–22, 2023/24)
Marc Roca (Leeds United 2022/23)

Have played in Spain:
Filip Jørgensen (Villarreal 2019–24)
Marc Cucurella (Barcelona 2012–19, Eibar 2018/19 loan, Getafe 2019–21)
Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal 2020–23)
Marc Guiu (Barcelona 2013–24)

International team-mates:
Diego Llorente, Pablo Fornals & Robert Sánchez, Marc Cucurella (Spain)
Giovanni Lo Celso & Enzo Fernández (Argentina)
William Carvalho & Pedro Neto (Portugal)
Youssouf Sabaly & Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)