Chelsea player ratings vs Wrexham: Fringe players struggled but got job done
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Chelsea booked a spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals after a difficult 4-2 fifth-round win over Wrexham after extra time on Saturday.
Liam Rosenior surprisingly set his team in a back-three system at Racecourse Ground, with Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong at wing-backs given the freedom to bomb forward in possession.
The Chelsea head coach also left key players out of the squad than expected, making nine changes in the team.
Neither Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, nor Cole Palmer made the squad.
Chelsea looked to control the tempo of the match, but Wrexham's low block proved resilient.
It was Chelsea who were caught off guard by the hosts' counter-attacking threat. Wrexham striker Sam Smith punished Chelsea's high defensive line and opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
Dreamland! 🤩
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 7, 2026
Sam Smith slots home to put @Wrexham_AFC ahead against Chelsea! 👏
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Chelsea continued to patiently try to break down Wrexham's defence, and only managed to do so five minutes before the break.
Liam Delap showcased his strength in the final third and found Alejandro Garnacho with a pass.
A little bit of luck hands @ChelseaFC the equaliser against Wrexham.
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 7, 2026
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The Argentina international unleashed a shot that led to an unfortunate Wrexham own goal.
The situation looked dire for Chelsea in the second half when Callum Doyle retook the lead for Wrexham in the 79th minute.
Impressively, it did not take long for Chelsea to respond.
Acheampong leveled the score just three minutes later, following Andrey Santos' brilliant defensive display to win the possession in a dangerous area.
Chelsea continued to push for a winner in the final minutes, and got a huge advantage when Wrexham midfielder George Dobson was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Alejandro Garnacho in stoppage time.
The match continued to extra time, but Chelsea's one-man advantage over Wrexham remained.
It did not take long for Chelsea to grab their first lead in the game through Garnacho, six minutes into the extra time.
Wrexham were very close to an equaliser, but Lewis Brunt's goal from a corner kick was eventually ruled out for offside by VAR.
Set-piece defence is clearly still a problem for Chelsea, but this time, they managed to get away with it.
Chelsea's in-form striker Joao Pedro eventually put the game to bed with a solo goal in the stoppage time of extra time.
Sealing it late on for @ChelseaFC 👊
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 7, 2026
Joao Pedro finds the bottom corner to make sure of his side's place in the last eight of the #EmiratesFACup!
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Here are the Chelsea player ratings vs Wrexham, according to SofaScore.
Starting XI
Robert Sanchez: 6.8
Mamadou Sarr: 6.4
Tosin Adarabioyo: 7.6
Benoit Badiashile: 7.0
Josh Acheampong: 7.2
Andrey Santos: 7.3
Romeo Lavia: 6.0
Jorrel Hato: 6.6
Pedro Neto: 6.6
Alejandro Garnacho: 8.4
Liam Delap: 6.6
Substitutes
Marc Guiu: 6.1
Marc Cucurella: 6.5
Dario Essugo: 7.5
Malo Gusto: 6.7
Joao Pedro: 8.2
Jesse Derry: 6.6
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.