Chelsea 1-0 (5-1 agg) Djurgarden : Blues cruise into Conference League final by way of Dewsbury-Hall strike | OneFootball

Chelsea sealed their spot in the UEFA Conference League final in Wroclaw with a comfortable 1-0 victory over Swedish side Djurgarden on Thursday evening.

The Blues booked a place in a European final just 24 hours removed from local minnows Arsenal again failing to do the same, leaving Chelsea to once again pick up the slack in being the pride of London on the continental stage.

It was a slow start to proceedings to Stamford Bridge - in spite of the carnival atmosphere being drummed up by the away fans - with the Pensioners content not to force the issue given the lead they had accumulated in Stockholm the week prior. The first real chance fell the way of towering centre-back Benoit Badiashile, whom headed a corner from captain Reece James well over with ten minutes on the clock.

The pace was foreseeably far from that befitting of an occasion with a European final berth on the line. A spate of corners won by a sharp Jadon Sancho and a lumbering trip by Tosin Adarabioyo on Tokmac Nguen which saw the Chelsea defender go into the book early was the sum of the excitement to be had for a while.

Some nice quick feet from Tyrique George fashioned an opening for his colleague Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall approaching the half hour mark, with the former Foxes man firing down the throat of a grateful Jacob Rinne to palm away hurriedly.

Daniel Stensson of Djurgarden and 16-year-old Reggie Walsh of Chelsea tussle during the UEFA Conference League semi-final second leg match between Chelsea and Djurgarden on May 8, 2025 in London. / IMAGO / Bildbyran

It was a big boot that was required from the Swedish stopper thereafter. A well disguised slide rule pass from 16-year-old Reggie Walsh slipped in George, who couldn't quite generate the requisite power and precision from a tight angle.

But the home side had started to dial up the heat and the inevitable breakthrough finally arrived before the break via a well-taken finish from Dewsbury-Hall, who turned his defender and shifted it swiftly on to his left before sweetly curling the ball past Rinne by way of the post.

The visitors looked up for giving it a good go after the resumption - striker Santeri Haarala first stinging the gloves of Filip Jorgensen from 25 yards before the Chelsea stopper had to get down well to deny a header from Miro Tenho that was bound for the bottom corner. The offside flag would have spared the Blues had Jorgensen's strong hand failed to do so. It was some positive intent for the travelling faithful to cheer, albeit they were at full voice all evening regardless to their credit.

A jinking run from George got the fans out of their seats on the hour mark, but the young Camden lad could only blast over. Only a matter of minutes later did he miss an open net with a header from a couple of yards out, although he had strayed offside to save some embarrassment (but not pain given a hefty knock in the process).

Dewsbury-Hall would be the next to spurn an opportunity, miskicking when the chance presented itself after some good work from George and nice vision from James. That'd be the skipper's last contribution, as he made way for Trevoh Chalobah. Swedish youngster Genesis Antwi would also enter the fray in place of Sancho.

Tobias Gulliksen of Djurgarden and Reece James of Chelsea during the UEFA Conference League semifinal second leg match between Chelsea and Djurgarden on May 8, 2025 in London. / IMAGO / Bildbyran

Antwi would dazzle down the right, including a moment when he turned his marker inside out before picking out fellow starlet Josh Acheampong, who fired high, wide and not so handsome. Walsh would do similar in the dying embers, but the slender final scoreline doesn't quite do justice in demonstrating how front-footed and positive a performance this was from Chelsea's youngsters.

The scoreline was rather immaterial, made redundant by a business-like performance in Sweden a week ago. Enzo Maresca has guided this youthful outfit to the Conference League final - a widely suspected outcome, given the pedigree and strength of the two-time Champions League winners, but one that leaves the Blues on the cusp of being the first club to win all European competitions come the 28 May in Poland.