Chelsea reach Conference League final with 5-1 aggregate win

LONDON :Favourites Chelsea, playing a second-string team, cantered into the Europa Conference League final with a regulation 1-0 win over Swedish side Djurgarden on Thursday for a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Their 38th-minute goal came from one of the more senior players on the pitch, Kiernan Dewsbury Hall, who received a neat pass from Tyrique George, rounded two defenders and fired a left-foot shot past keeper Jacob Rinner.

With the side 4-1 up from the first leg and involved in an end-of-season Premier League scrap for Champions League spots, Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca rested players and put out a youthful team including a first start for 16-year-old forward Reggie Walsh. Chelsea face a stiffer challenge in the final where they play either Spain's Real Betis or Fiorentina of Italy in Wroclaw, Poland on May 28.