Chelsea will have to make incredibly rare choice no other English club has ever had to make after winning Conference League

After finishing fourth in the Premier League, newly-crowned Conference League winners Chelsea have an unusual, but very straightforward decision to make following their 4-1 win over Real Betis.

It looked like it would be a long night for Enzo Maresca's young side, when Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli fired the Spanish club ahead with just nine minutes played at the Stadion Miejski, Wroclaw.

Chelsea continued to struggle throughout the opening stages but after the break, they dominated for large spells as goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho, and Moises Caicedo sealed a well-earned victory.

Having got their hands on another European trophy, the Blues now have a choice to make.

Of course, the winners of the Conference League get a place in the Europa League, but Chelsea have already qualified for the Champions League after finishing fourth in the league, meaning they can choose which competition they play in next season.

There is no doubt that Chelsea will take up the option to play Champions League football next season, but as pointed out by ESPN, there is a clause in place to cover a team from one of Europe's lower-ranked leagues winning the Conference League.

"If they take up their domestic UCL place in the qualifying rounds they wouldn't be guaranteed to play in the UEL, or even a European league phase at all depending where they start qualifying," says journalist Dale Johnson.

"If they feel making the UCL league phase through qualifying is tough, they can opt to take the automatic place in the UEL league phase earned by winning the Conference League."

Chelsea lift the Conference League trophy after a 4-1 win over Real Betis. Image credit: Getty

Last week, Enzo Maresca secured Champions League qualification in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge after his side secured a 1-0 win over fellow contenders Nottingham Forest.

The Italian was clearly delighted with his team's performance on Sunday, and after the full-time whistle, the Italian aimed a not-so-subtle message to those who doubted his team.

"I didn’t have any doubt about the players," he said. "The doubt was from outside. All the ones that have the answers or the ones that have the truth, they were saying that we are too young, we are not good enough, they were waiting for Aston Villa to drop points for us to achieve the Champions League.

"They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch because we are too young, because we are not experienced."

Never one to hold back, Maresca then told the critics to "eff off" as he continued to praise his players.

"Unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong," the 45-year-old added. "All the ones that have the truth and have an answer to everything. So in English, how you say? “Eff off” to all of them, because the players deserve that. The effort they have been doing is fantastic."