Why Chelsea must win Conference League as Enzo Maresca reveals next target

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Evening Standard

·13 de março de 2025

Why Chelsea must win Conference League as Enzo Maresca reveals next target

Blues are on course to win another major European competition after sealing quarter-final place

Enzo Maresca has set his Chelsea players a Conference League target

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Enzo Maresca has told his Chelsea players they owe it to the fans and club to win the Europa Conference League this season.

Chelsea booked a spot in the quarter-finals by beating Copenhagen 1-0 on Thursday night and defeating them 3-1 on aggregate.

The Blues, who are favourites for the competition, will now face Legia Warsaw in the next round and Maresca has challenged them to go all the way.

“This club always won trophies in the past and we need to do our best to achieve our target this season,” he said. “We have to give to the fans and the club a title.

“It’s important to reach the quarter-finals. Now the target is the next step which is the semi-finals. We deserved it over two legs. We changed and adjusted in the second half and we were much better. You need patience.”

Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the night on Thursday, finding the net 10 minutes into the second half.

Dewsbury-Hall has struggled for minutes this season since joining from Leicester last summer, but he has echoed Maresca’s calls for Chelsea to win the Conference League.

“Chelsea has won the Champions League, the Europa League, it would be stupid of us to say we can’t win this,” he said.

“It’s not arrogant from us but we just know the quality that we have in the squad. Copenhagen are a good team but we are happy to be through.”

Dewsbury-Hall’s goal came after a good run into the box and it was his third goal in the Conference League this season.

“I saw a gap and managed to jink through,” he said. “I thought I would pick my spot and luckily it came off, I practice [that type of finish] it after training and was happy to produce it in a match.

“In the second half, we got a few more chances and we got a goal.”

“It was nice to get a lead in the first leg coming to Stamford Bridge and we are safely into the quarters.”