Chelsea edge 10-man Wrexham in six-goal FA Cup thriller to spare Liam Rosenior’s blushes
Chelsea secured a hard-fought passage into the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday evening, defeating Championship outfit Wrexham 4-2 following a pulsating extra-time encounter at the Racecourse Ground.
The Premier League side, currently fifth in the top flight and eight-time winners of the competition, were pushed to their limits by Phil Parkinson’s promotion-chasing Welsh club.
Liam Rosenior opted to rotate heavily with Wednesday’s Champions League meeting against Paris Saint-Germain in mind, making nine alterations from the team that triumphed 4-1 at Aston Villa.
Only Jorrel Hato and Alejandro Garnacho retained their starting berths for the trip to North Wales.
Wrexham went ahead twice against Chelsea before they were pegged back
|
REUTERS
The Hollywood-owned hosts, backed by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, came agonisingly close to producing a famous upset before controversial VAR interventions helped swing the tie Chelsea’s way.
The rotated Chelsea lineup found themselves behind early as Wrexham seized control of proceedings.
Sam Smith broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, exploiting the visitors’ high defensive line to latch onto a superb through ball from Callum Doyle.
The striker finished clinically, driving a low effort beyond Robert Sanchez from the edge of the box.
Wrexham maintained their dominance throughout the opening period, yet Chelsea drew level just before the interval in the most fortuitous circumstances imaginable.
Garnacho collected possession on the left flank and fired a shot towards goal, which Arthur Okonkwo appeared to have covered.
Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds flew in to watch their side in action
|
REUTERS
George Thomason cleared off the line but inadvertently hammered the ball into his own goalkeeper, with the ricochet bouncing into the net.
The Wrexham midfielder held his head in disbelief at the cruel twist of fate.
The second half proved equally dramatic as Wrexham regained the advantage with eleven minutes of normal time remaining.
Doyle, having earlier provided the assist for Smith, turned goalscorer himself in the 79th minute, improvising brilliantly to turn in a loose ball after Josh Windass’s shot was blocked.
Chelsea responded almost immediately through teenage defender Josh Acheampong, who struck emphatically after Andrey Santos’s deflected pass fell kindly to him.
The match then erupted in controversy when George Dobson was initially shown yellow for a challenge on Garnacho, only for referee Peter Bankes to upgrade the punishment to red following a VAR review.
Alan Shearer, commentating for the BBC, declared: “A naughty one. George Dobson knows what he is doing and he catches Alejandro Garnacho high.”
Wayne Rooney disagreed, stating simply: “I don’t think it is a red.”
George Dobson’s red card proved a key moment in the match
|
REUTERS
Reduced to ten men, Wrexham battled valiantly to force extra time but fell behind for the first time when Garnacho converted Dario Essugo’s cross in the 96th minute.
The Welsh side believed they had equalised moments later when Lewis Brunt bundled home after Kieffer Moore’s towering header, yet VAR intervened once more to disallow the effort for offside.
Home supporters responded with furious chants directed at the video technology.
Joao Pedro sealed Chelsea’s victory with a fine fourth goal late in the additional period.
