Lesley Ugochukwu‘s 82nd-minute equaliser salvaged a 2-2 draw for Chelsea against Wrexham on Wednesday in Enzo Maresca’s first game as the Blues new head coach.
League One side Wrexham threatened to cause an upset when recovering from falling behind to Christopher Nkunku‘s 35th-minute strike to lead midway through the second half through goals from Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott.
But Ugochukwu ensured Chelsea avoided an embarrassing defeat with a smart finish in front of 32,724 fans at Levi’s Stadium.
The game flared up as early as the third minute when Levi Colwill reacted to a late challenge from James McClean. The pair grabbed each other, sparking a melee which included Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson trying to separate the two players.
Chelsea, who named Colwill, Noni Madueke and Romeo Lavia in their starting lineup, dominated the ball and operated with Reece James utilised as an inverted full-back when in possession — a key trait of Maresca’s time at Leicester City, where he won the Championship last season.
Nkunku fired Chelsea in front after Tyrique George‘s shot was blocked by Marc Guiu in the box. The loose ball fell perfectly for Nkunku, who thrashed a shot past Arthur Okonkwo and into the bottom corner.
Maresca made 10 changes at half-time as only Carney Chukwuemeka continued with Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Armando Broja among those introduced.
Wrexham wrestled back the initiative just before the hour mark as Ugochukwu was caught in possession and then allowed Seb Revan to cross for Bolton, who converted at the far post.
Things got better for the League One side 13 minutes later when Chelsea once again lost the ball trying to play out from the back, this time Josh Achaepong tackled by Marriott. Sam Dalby returned the ball back to Mariott, who fired a low drive into the far corner.
But Chelsea equalised eight minutes from time as Broja laid the ball off to Ugochukwu, who steered home a side-footed shot.