Enzo Maresca brought the slow start of Chelsea in their ultimately triumphant conference competition -final to the mental efforts that had put his side to secure Champions League football 72 hours earlier.
And the blues boss hopes that achieving both goals can mark the start of something new at Stamford Bridge.
In the opening, Chelsea was 45 minutes in the Wroclaw before the rest introduction of Reece James who re-renovated the men of Maresca, and saw four second half scoring goals to complete a pounding 4-1 win over real betis.
Even prior to the game, the head coach already suspected that the tribe of playing such an important Premier League match on Sunday in Nottingham Forest has a knock-on impact after their 1-0 win.
He said to TNT Sports: “In the first half we approached the game in the wrong way. I expected it a bit, because luck was a bit too much after Nottingham Forest for two days.
“You are going to wait all season, wait. We struggled a bit with that, but the second half was much better.
“The message after Forest was that if we wanted to be an important team, we have done and we now have to win a final.
“That was the message, but there is happiness, the tiredness. We played on Sunday for a big target, [Betis] Played for nothing on Friday. They had 48 hours extra.
“I expected it a bit, but in the second half we were much better and we attacked, which we did not before the break.”
The final 4-1 victory of Chelsea made them the first team to win all the most important continental trophies in Europe and brought them their first silverware since the club World Cup in February 2022.
Since the acquisition of Blueco later that year, the club has spent more than £ 1 billion in new signing sessions, but has little to show to secure their first conference competition title.
In combination with a return to the Champions League after an absence of two years, Maresca is hopeful that a domino effect is about to follow.
“I am very proud and very happy,” he said. “I know that the fans deserve it, they have waited a few years for good moments. The club has invested a lot of money, so they also waited.
“Hopefully this can be a starting point and we can start creating something important.
“The target for next season? We're going to try again. We will enjoy it for a week or so and then look ahead.”
James 'destroyed' not to start | Maresca: I would do it if I could
Chelsea skipper James was a surprising omission of the startline-up, but played a major role in the second half of Chelsea.
He was “destroyed” to miss a place in the starting line, but Maresca said that managing his minutes and fitness – after a miserable three years of countless injuries – was the most important driver behind the start of him on the couch.
“It is devastating to find out that you don't start a final,” James told TNT Sports. “I want to play every game, but it was the manager's decision.
“I had to accept it and go further and get up when I was needed. In the first half we were very flat. We needed a reaction in the second half and we got it.”
Maresca said in response when he was asked about the decision to start James on the couch: “I promise you would always start Reece, but I try to protect him, he played more games this season than in the last two.
“He is happy, he is a top player. He is like Cole Palmer – but we have to manage him. When I turned on him, he said he was not worried and that we would win the game.”
Sky Sports to show 215 Live PL games next season
From next season, the Premier League coverage of Sky Sports will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games that are exclusively live.
And 80 percent of all Premier League matches broadcast on television will be on Sky Sports next season.
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