Chelsea 1 Djurgard 0 (5-1 AGG) -Walshs highlights; Meaning for Maresca? Play young people in the final?

Chelsea was committed to the final of the Conference League with a comfortable victory over the Swedish team of Djurgard.

After Enzo Maresca's team won the away leg 4-1 last week, he completed the Rout on Stamford Bridge, where Reggie Walsh was the youngest player after 16 years by 200 days who started a European game for the club.

In a great atmosphere on the bridge, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal for Chelsea in the first half and set home after he was founded by Tyroque George, graduate of the Walsh academy.

Chelsea will compete on May 28th in the final in the final in Wroclaw, Poland, which means that Maresca has to decide whether he continues to bloom young people if they joined much more.

Here Simon Johnson and Dan Sheldon open the action.

What does reaching the end mean for Maresca?

As everyone expected, since they got into competition 12 months ago when Manchester United won the FA Cup final, Chelsea drove into the final of the Conference League.

There was a party atmosphere in the Stamford Bridge to enjoy the moment, but Maresca knows that it does not deserve too much recognition with the fan base.

The easiest way was to achieve all the goals that Maresca was determined at the beginning of the campaign. The Italian is aware of this, and yet you have to say that he treated the competition well so that the Fringe members are happy and the Academy players offer some valuable experience.

Maresca has openly admitted that it will be a big disappointment if Chelsea does not increase the trophy in Wroclaw – the club gives the club the opportunity to become the first that wins every large UEFA tournament. Of something that Arsenal fans can only dream of.

But Chelsea's trailer, who has expressed her frustration with Maresca since the end of the year, wants the Champions League qualification through a top five finish.

(Molly Darlington – UEFA/UEFA about Getty Images)

Chelsea has it back in his hands after three victories of successive league, but on Sunday with a hard game on the rival Newcastle United before playing Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.

If Maresca reaches the double of the Champion League football and the Conference League, he can win more of the doubt. If not, there will be more questions.

The next three weeks will really define how Maresca's first season is viewed. There are only a few head coaches who reach the final of a large Cup competition that are able not to celebrate too much – but these are Chelsea's standards for you.

Simon Johnson

How did the 16-year-old Walsh appear?

Maresca was always expected to make many changes on the first XI this evening, but it was still a pleasant surprise when Walsh made his first senior start for the club at the age of only 16 years and 200 days.

In order to put the performance in the right perspective, Walsh only began playing for the U18-year-olds at the beginning of the season and made his professional debut in the first leg against Djurgard last week.

When the teams were prepared for the kick -off, Tosin Adarabioyo, who lovingly is known as “uncle” in the squad, put a soothing arm around the teenager.

Walsh impressed at his first start for Chelsea (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

It is difficult to say whether it made a difference or not, but Walsh looked at the start from the start, without a doubt also through the huge roar that came from the stands when his name was read about the Tannoy.

He wasted no time to get several hints of the ball and made a good understanding with Jadon Sancho on the left flank.

Maresca said he chose Walsh because “between the lines they can immediately see that he has something about him”, and he showed that when a beautiful ball for George was pushed, a goal was scored on the half -hour brand.

There was a moment in the first half in which they saw how much Maresca was on his side. Walsh overlooked a pass to Marc Cucurella, who still had the possession. Maresca reacted with a loud outbreak of encouraging applause from the touchline.

It is not surprising that Walsh faded in the second half and was not quite as involved. With seven minutes, however, there was the possibility to score a goal.

''Schuhoooooot'Was the cry of the Chelsea fans and he was properly committed from 25 meters. It didn't come close when it flew into the stands. However, it was great to see how he tried it.

All in all, it was a dream week for Walsh and the fact that he played the full 90 minutes is an experience that cannot buy money.

Simon Johnson

How was the atmosphere?

For a game that was over before the start of the second leg, the Djurgard fans made themselves on the Stamford Bridge. But for half -time they did not stop singing, which made a good atmosphere in an otherwise dead rubber.

After all, it was still a European semi -finals at the Stamford Bridge, and it is a competition that Chelsea wants to win. The noise in the stadium reflected this, and the Djurgard supporters were certainly creative with some of their songs. And in the second half, the home fans intervened and made their own racket.

Many Djurg -Arnen supporters who had not secured a ticket in the home in the home sections, especially in the corner of the western stand, where there was a remarkable bag that had seen and heard.

At the beginning of this evening #Uec Match, Chelsea FC was aware that some away fans were given access to areas of the stadium in violation of our ticketing directive.

The Chelsea supporters who sit in immediate areas were relocated with additional security and police … pic.twitter.com/rwyapbdj0h

– Chelsea FC (@chelafc) May 8, 2025

In the quarter -finals against Legia Warsaw in April, the fans of the Polish club also managed to buy tickets in their own home sections.

Although it is unlikely that Djurgarden will soon play on Stamford Bridge again, their fans certainly made an impression.

Dan Sheldon

Should Chelsea stay with the youth for the final?

The conference league has proven to be incredibly useful for Maresca when it comes to resting its most important players and using a large squad. For example, Walsh would only have dreamed of playing in a European semi -finals for the first team of Stamford Bridge before the season started.

George showed what he is capable of in Europe and used it as a springboard to achieve seven Premier League appearances.

George is challenged by Jacob Une (Warren Little/Getty Images)

The 19-year-old achieved another impressive performance this evening, set up the goal of Dewsbury-Hall and added flair breath, like the control of the ball behind his standing on late. Without the competition this season, they wonder if they had the chance to play regularly.

But with everything that said, Maresca should play his strongest XI in the final. With a European trophy on the line and in a game in which Chelsea will play her toughest opponent in the tournament, Maresca has to prioritize a victory – and the naming of players like Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises at the Start XI is the sensible movement.

Dan Sheldon

What did Maresca say?

In conversation with TNT Sports, the Chelsea head coach said: “Very happy, the job is done tonight and now we have almost 20 days to prepare for this final, and hopefully we can win these trophy.

“Good performance with many young players. It is almost a second team. Very happy for the boys and very happy to reach the final.”

He added to Reggie Walsh: “How good is he? You can see that he is a good player. He is this kind of player we like very good. Of course he is young and he has many things to do and grow. Very happy for him, very happy for his family and he has to enjoy this moment.”

What next to Chelsea?

Sunday, May 11th: Newcastle (away), Premier League, lunch britain, 7 a.m.

(Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)