Chelsea defeated newly promoted League 2 side and U.S. favorites Wrexham on Wednesday 5-0 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
This was a first look at a Chelsea side which has offloaded so many players this summer. The Blues’ starting XI was a testament to how few familiar faces are on the roster.
The team news you've all been waiting for! @ParimatchUK | #BluesInTheUSA
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 19, 2023
Wrexham opted for their A-team starting squad.
TEAM NEWS | Chelsea vs Wrexham AFC
Your squad for our first game of the 2023 US Tour!⚪️ #WxmAFC | #WxmUSTour pic.twitter.com/7qd1UfLfnq
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) July 19, 2023
The one player Chelsea fans were dying to see was former RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku who made his non-competitive debut for the Blues vs. Wrexham.
Nkunku goal vs Wrexham
Nkunku came on as a sub to start the second half and had an incredibly quiet night besides his goal. His big moment came in the 90th minute when he got one-on-one with the goalkeeper and just got around him to make it 4-0.
Nkunku’s first goal for Chelsea. This guy is world class pic.twitter.com/5Gubqa90zu
— Conn (@ConnCFC) July 20, 2023
Here were the rest of the goals from Chelsea on the night.
Jackson unselfish, maatsen goal . Pochettino’s blues are up and running pic.twitter.com/6156mFCgzZ
— nkunku’s houseboy (@iamyourspec) July 20, 2023
what a goal pic.twitter.com/o7CnSrCemA
— R (@Re7ceRevivaI) July 20, 2023
Gallagher pic.twitter.com/XLJyz3twav
— FC Series (@FC_series) July 20, 2023
Great finish from Ben Chilwell to make it 5-0 to Chelsea!!! pic.twitter.com/zAxF2kvrHv
— Frank Khalid OBE (@FrankKhalidUK) July 20, 2023
Chelsea ran away with the game toward the end of the match with three goals in the final 13 minutes. The final score doesn’t quite reflect the competitiveness of the game.
Wrexham held their own against the Premier League side for 80 minutes. When Ian Maatsen scored in the third minute it initially felt like the 50,000+ in attendance at Kenan Memorial Stadium were in for a massacre. The crowd was a decent mix between Chelsea and Wrexham supporters which just goes to show how much of a success "Welcome to Wrexham" has had in the States.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Red Dragons shook off the early goal and created a few chances of their own. Elliot Lee drew some “oohs and ahhs” from the crowd when his attempted bicycle kick in the 12th minute went just wide.
While Wrexham turned up the heat, new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino proved that he was immune to the high temps. Like seriously, who told him it would be a good idea to wear a hoodie and sweats on a July night in North Carolina?
The aura. #BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/PgWThAyLIF
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 20, 2023
The temperature was over 80 degrees with the humidity at 75%. What a madman.
In the second half Chelsea added some real firepower to the field with Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell being subbed into the game. In all honesty though, it took them about 35 minutes to come to life.
For about 30 minutes of the second half it looked like the usual Chelsea routine of no creativity paired with poor finishing. Wrexham nearly made it 2-1 in the 70th minute when Ryan Barnett delivered a perfect ball to an open Billy Waters who had a swing and a miss from just a few yards out.
Directly after that Wrexham chance, Chelsea countered with Sterling missing a header from point-blank range.
Chelsea’s next games will be the Summer Premier League series in the U.S. while Wrexham will travel to the west coast for games against LA Galaxy II and Manchester United.
