A European adventure that started all the way back in August will conclude when Chelsea play Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final. Here we recap the journey so far…
The Blues have successfully navigated the play-off round, the league phase, the Round of 16, the quarter-finals and, earlier this month, the semi-finals to reach the competition's showpiece in Wroclaw.
Should we become the fourth team to win the Conference League since its launch in 2021, we will be the first club to have triumphed in all the major UEFA competitions, past and present. This is how we have given ourselves the possibility of achieving that historic feat…
Play-off round
Chelsea 2-0 Servette
Servette 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea progress 3-2 on aggregate
Goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke gave Chelsea a first-leg advantage to take to Switzerland, where another Nkunku penalty put us in a commanding position to progress.
However, Servette showed spirit to come from behind and lead. We had to fight hard to hold on to our aggregate advantage and book a place in the competition proper.
League phase
Chelsea 4-2 Gent
An entertaining game at the Bridge featured first Chelsea goals for Renato Veiga and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall either side of efforts from Pedro Neto and Nkunku.
Gent briefly halved the deficit to 2-1 - helped by an assist from Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Chelsea legend Eidur - but the Belgian side were outclassed overall. The Blues were up and running.
Panathinaikos 1-4 Chelsea
Chelsea routed the Greek giants at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, set on our way by a close-range Joao Felix strike midway through the first half.
Mykhailo Mudryk doubled our lead with a header before Joao Felix grabbed his second and Nkunku despatched another nerveless penalty. Two goal-laden wins moved us top of the league stage table, a position we would never relinquish.
Chelsea 8-0 Noah
Chelsea racked up the biggest UEFA Conference League victory ever and our biggest win since 2012 as we dismantled Armenian side Noah at Stamford Bridge.
Our six first-half goals went in two by two. The floodgates opened in the space of 60 seconds as Tosin Adarabioyo and Marc Guiu bagged their first in Chelsea blue.
Before the midway point of the half, Axel Disasi and Joao Felix added to that tally in quick succession, and the next brace of quickfire goals came from Mudryk, and Joao Felix again. Nkunku continued his fine run in the competition with a double after the break on a memorable night in SW6.
Heidenheim 0-2 Chelsea
The Bundesliga side also had maximum points going into this encounter, and it needed Filip Jorgensen at his best to keep the scores level before the break.
We had chances of our own too, though, and asserted our dominance in the second half through Nkunku and Mudryk.
Astana 1-3 Chelsea
On a freezing night in Kazakhstan, and on our furthest European away game ever, Chelsea secured safe passage to the Round of 16.
Marc Guiu notched twice in four minutes and Veiga headed in a corner, rendering Marin Tomasov’s goal nothing more than a consolation on a night when three young Blues, Ato Ampah, Shumaira Mheuka, and Kiano Dyer, were given their Blues debut.
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers
Guiu bagged a first-half hat-trick, showing predatory instincts in the box after Irish side Shamrock had stunned the Bridge by equalising.
Dewsbury-Hall also netted before the break, before a Marc Cucurella strike provided a fitting finale to a league stage campaign littered with Chelsea goals.
Round of 16
Copenhagen 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-0 Copenhagen
Chelsea progress 3-1 on aggregate
The first opponent we had met before in European competition provided a stern test in both legs, but the Blues had too much.
In the Danish capital, Reece James and Enzo Fernandez notched their first goals in the competition to ensure we returned to Stamford Bridge holding an advantage, despite a late Copenhagen strike.
It was tight at the Bridge but any nerves were settled when Dewsbury-Hall blended physicality with finesse to put us ahead on the night and 3-1 up on aggregate.
Quarter-final
Legia Warsaw 0-3 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-2 Legia Warsaw
Chelsea progress 4-2 on aggregate
Chelsea’s dominance in Warsaw was rewarded early in the second half when George showed great composure to net his first goal for the club. It was a very special moment indeed.
Madueke then scored for the first time since the play-off round, and the winger doubled his tally on the night shortly after Nkunku had a penalty saved.
It was a different story in the second leg back in SW6, Marc Cucurella scoring our goal in a 2-1 reverse, but the job had already been done.
Semi-final
Djurgarden 1-4 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-0 Djurgarden
Chelsea progress 5-1 on aggregate
Once again we were away first, this time in Stockholm to play Djurgarden, and once again we put in an impressive showing to take control of the tie.
Jadon Sancho and Madueke struck before Nicolas Jackson opened his Conference League account with a swift brace, the second of which was a stunner of a strike.
As in Copenhagen the hosts got one back, but it mattered not as Dewsbury-Hall netted his fourth in the competition at the Bridge to seal our spot with a 5-1 aggregate success.
In total, the Blues have netted 41 goals in 14 Conference League fixtures played in eight different countries. We travel to Poland again trying to add to that impressive record in front of goal so we return home with silverware to show for a near-perfect continental campaign.