Match Report: Chelsea beat Wrexham 4-2 after thrilling game to progress to FA Cup quarters

Chelsea squeaked past Wrexham after extra time in a really exciting game in North Wales – but they had the referee to thank for it.

The home side went ahead twice, with Chelsea playing spoiler on both occasions. As the game headed to extra time, George Dobson got a red card which finally turned the game in favour of the Blues.

The home team still had time to cause some scares – an 114th minute potential equaliser shortly after Chelsea had finally gone ahead in the game would truly have taken the roof off. But VAR stepped in once again to help out Liam Rosenior’s team.

A lucky escape, and another reminder that this squad has a long way to go. Alejandro Garnacho was maybe the only player who stepped in and did his case for more league minutes some good.

MOTM – Alejandro Garnacho

Analysis

This was a really enjoyable game for the neutral, but not one that gave much comfort to Chelsea fans worried about this team’s ability to compete.

Rosenior picked a rotated side, but one with plenty of quality players, that should have been able to take the game to lower league opposition. Instead the terrible lack of depth in this flawed squad was revealed by yet another struggle the moment some key first team players were rotated out.

Chelsea were very fortunate that Wrexham were ones with a moment of madness and a red card. Otherwise it feels like we’d be writing a very different story today.

Teams

Wrexham
Arthur Okonkwo
Max Cleworth
Dominic Hyam
Callum Doyle
Ryan Longman
Zak Vyner
George Dobson
George Thomason
Oliver Rathbone
Sam Smith
Lewis O’Brien Substitutes
Danny Ward
Dan Scarr
Lewis Brunt (s 106′)
Ryan Barnett (s 91′)
Davis Keillor-Dunn (s 112′)
Josh Windass (s 66′)
Nathan Broadhead (s 76′)
Jay Rodriguez
Kieffer Moore (s 66′) Chelsea
Robert Sanchez
Mamadou Sarr
Tosin Adarabioyo
Benoit Badiashile
Josh Acheampong
Andrey Santos
Romeo Lavia
Jorrel Hato
Pedro Neto
Alejandro Garnacho
Liam Delap Substitutes
Teddy Sharman-Lowe
Reece James
Malo Gusto (s 85′)
Trevoh Chalobah
Marc Cucurella (s 65′)
Dario Essugo (s 65′)
Jesse Derry (s 100′)
de Jesus Joao Pedro (s 85′)
Marc Guiu (s 58′)

Stats

Statistic	Wrexham	Chelsea
Ball possession	32%	68%
Expected goals (xG)	1.87	1.73
Total shots	19	21
Shots on target	5	7
Big chances	2	3
Big chances missed	1	1
Accurate passes	360 (79%)	920 (91%)
Fouls committed	11	6
Corners	9	4

Quote of the game

“We’re not fans of VAR” – Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds speak to ESPN after the game.