Every word Enzo Maresca said on Conference League win, first Chelsea trophy, Cole Palmer display

Enzo Maresca has just wrapped up his post-match press conference after his Chelsea side produced a stunning comeback to win the Conference League final against Real Betis.

The Blues went 1-0 down in Wroclaw with Betis taking an early lead through Abde Ezzalzouli and had to wait until the second-half to find a route back into the final. Enzo Fernandez levelled the match in Poland before Nicolas Jackson gave Chelsea the lead. Goals from Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo ensured a night that will live in the club's history.

A first piece of silverware as Chelsea head coach for Maresca, who has just spoken to the media to offer his verdict. Here is every word the Italian had to say:

During the half-time break, how many times did you swear to the players to show your anger?

No, yeah, I think I expect a little bit the way we play for staff. And the reason why is because I said two weeks ago that in football, you cannot give any advantage to any team. I think between us and them, 48 hours has been a big difference. Friday, they had a game where they were playing for nothing, not any target.

We played 100 minutes on Sunday, and in the last seconds, to achieve something important. So I expect a little bit. Then I think we adjust something tactically at half-time, but especially we changed something. Second half, we were much better, and we are very happy.

Cole Palmer isn't bad, is he? Can you talk us through what makes him so special as a player, and what he did tonight for you to turn that final round with those two assists?

Yeah, the bad moment or the bad run he had during this season is going to make him a better player, no doubt. We all know that he's a top player. We need to help him to be in the right position in the right moment. And then he's a quality player. He can decide with a goal or with an assist, and as you said, the two assists have been both very nice.

How significant do you think the last few weeks have been in terms of going forward?

For sure we've improved a lot since we started. We also started to win games in an ugly way. That is something with a young squad that you struggle to do that, but I think, for instance, in the Nottingham Forest game we won in a little bit of an ugly way. We found the way to win the game, that was very, very important.

And then the best picture for me for tonight that made me understand that we were in the right direction is when we scored the first two guys to celebrate was Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiashile. The two that we changed. And this, probably sometimes we judge games, but this for me, for a manager, when you change players that they are not playing good and they are the first that they enjoy the celebration, that means a lot. That means that the spirit is good, we're going in the right direction, everyone is helping each other, and this is a good base to build something important.

You said that Nicolas Jackson had a bit of a debt to repay to his team. Has he done it tonight?

Yeah, he had a good game. First half, I think it was difficult for all of us. Second half, we were much, much better. Also, Nico was better. And he scored, he worked hard. And this is the Nico that the team needs.

What can winning a trophy do for this young group?

Hopefully, it can be a starting point to build a winner mentality. You need to win games, you need to win competition. And for sure, the trophy we won tonight is going to make us better.

But also, I'm very proud about the path or the journey we have done in the Premier League. But for me, it's the most difficult competition in the world. You have to be consistent in 38 games. And these players, they showed. That's why after Nottingham Forest, my outburst was a little bit exaggerated. But the reason why is just because in 38 games, you need to be consistent. And with the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, it's something unbelievable.

Now that you've got the trophy, you've won the competition. Do you ever want to be back in this competition? Should you be looking further ahead?

Yes, for sure. For sure. We won this competition. I said many times, we're going to try to win the competition where we are in, where we play. This season, many times, people were talking about Champions League, Europa League. But you cannot win that competition if you play conference. So our target was to win conference. Now, next season, we're going to play Champions League. And we'll see.

Is the target to win that?

No [laughs].

I wanted to ask about this good ending of the season of Premier League and Conference League. Will it be a challenge to remain focused before the Club World Cup?

Now we have 10 days off. Ten days where we need to recover energy. And then we're going to start the Club World Cup. The target, to be honest, is go game by game. Try to go step by step. But in this moment, we don't have any target for the Club World Cup. Now the only target is to recover energy because the season has been very long. Don't forget that we started the conference in the play-off, not even in the group. And it has been a long season.