Chelsea news: The Blues road to Wroclaw

Since Chelsea’s sixth-placed league finish was downgraded to a Conference League spot by Manchester United‘s FA Cup final win over Manchester City last May, there has been an expectation for the Blues to reach the final.

Aside from a slightly dicey play-off round second leg against Servette, Enzo Maresca’s side have done that with minimal fuss.

In the league phase of the competition, the Blues won every game by a minimum of two goals, and in the knockout stages every tie was settled by at least the same margin on aggerate.

In their 12 matches, they have scored 38 goals at an average of 3.17 per match, conceded nine times and averaged 62.5% possession and 92.5% pass accuracy – leading the competition in each metric. Their five clean sheets is also the joint most of any side.

The lower standard of Europe’s third tier competition has also allowed Maresca to flex his squad and offer game time to fringe players and youngsters.

This is illustrated by Chelsea’s top five goalscorers in Europe this season; Marc Guiu [six], Christopher Nkunku [five], Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall [four], Joao Felix [four] and Mykhailo Mudryk [four]. These five have just 15 Premier League starts between them – nine of which are from Nkunku. Felix departed on loan in January while Mudryk remains suspended after failing a doping test in December.

Dewsbury-Hall has perhaps been the standout performer – starting 11 of the 12 matches while scoring goals in the last 16 and semi-final – with the Conference League allowing the £30m summer signing a chance to shine.

Another benefit of the Conference League has been the opportunities afforded to young players. Tyrique George, Shumaira Mheuka, Samuel Rak-Sakyi, Reggie Walsh, Ato Ampah, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Genesis Antwi and Kiano Dyer have all made their senior Chelsea debuts in the competition this season while Josh Acheampong made his first start for the club and Mathis Amougou also featured.

It has been a notable platform for George who started eight games, played in all 12 and scored his first senior goal, propelling him to Premier League opportunities.

Nevertheless, Maresca’s primary mission this season of qualifying for the Champions League has been achieved and realistically the result of Wednesday’s final is not pivotal in the club’s immediate future.

However, in a campaign where the Conference League has been navigated with ease – and exploited to its full potential – finishing with a first trophy for many in the young squad would provide a fine foundation to build upon.