Wrexham - a team owned by two Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds - is nurturing ambitions to reach the Premier League. However, the 2-4 defeat to Chelsea in the 5th round of the FA Cup has partly shown the harshness of the highest playground in England.
Despite playing hard and taking the lead twice at SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham ultimately could not resist the class of the Premier League team. Chelsea, under the guidance of coach Liam Rosenior, showed the bravery of a big team to win a ticket to the quarterfinals.
The most prominent character of the match was Alejandro Garnacho - a £40 million contract that Chelsea recruited from Manchester United in the summer of 2025. The 21-year-old player assisted the first equalizing goal and directly scored an important goal in extra time, thereby becoming a big difference between the two teams.
This is our toughest match this season. Wrexham played very well, but in the end we still won" - Garnacho shared.
At many times, Wrexham showed that they were capable of causing difficulties for the big opponent. Sam Smith opened the score in the 18th minute and the home team played quite confidently against Chelsea. However, a mistake between goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and George Thomason helped The Blues equalize before halftime when Garnacho's cross accidentally changed direction and flew into the net.
In the second half, Wrexham continued to fight bravely and re-established the lead thanks to a goal by Callum Doyle in the 79th minute. But just 3 minutes later, Josh Acheampong equalized for Chelsea, putting the match into extra time.
The turning point came in the 90th minute when Garnacho accelerated on the left wing and forced George Dobson to commit a dangerous foul. Initially, referee Peter Bankes only showed a yellow card, but after consulting VAR, Dobson was sent off.
Playing with one more player in extra time, Chelsea quickly took advantage. Garnacho volleyed accurately from Dario Essugo's pass to put the away team ahead for the first time.
Wrexham seemed to have equalized when Lewis Brunt put the ball into the net from close range, but VAR determined an offside situation. In the last minute, Joao Pedro sealed a 4-2 victory for Chelsea.
That's why the FA Cup is always special. Wrexham showed great enthusiasm and great courage in their pressing style. They made it very difficult for us throughout the match.
Now we need to continue working and focus on recovering fitness. We have a very important match on Wednesday, so the whole team needs to start preparing for that match right now" - Rosenior said.
According to Rosenior, Chelsea had to maintain the highest level of concentration to overcome the challenge from the Welsh team.
We need to control the match better, but cup matches always have very special emotions. Those are extremely difficult matches" - he emphasized.
Despite being eliminated from the FA Cup, Wrexham still has the right to be proud of playing fairly with a Premier League team. However, this match also shows the gap in speed and individual quality between the two levels.
To be able to survive in the Premier League, Wrexham will need players who are capable of making a difference like Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland or Bukayo Saka.
In the immediate future, the most important goal of the Welsh team is still the Championship promotion race. The upcoming match against Hull City is much more meaningful than the FA Cup defeat.
On Chelsea's side, they will continue to aim for bigger goals, including the confrontation with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
