Liam Rosenior said Chelsea were “lucky” to seal a 4-2 FA Cup fifth round win against Wrexham after two crucial VAR decisions went against the EFL Championship team during a nail-biting tie at Stok Cae Ras.
A second-half red card for Wrexham midfielder George Dobson following a foul on Alejandro Garnacho and a disallowed Lewis Brunt goal in extra time were both decided by VAR, which is only being used from the fifth round onwards in this season’s FA Cup.
Had both incidents happened in previous rounds, Dobson would have avoided a red card and Brunt’s goal would have been allowed to stand.
But while both VAR decisions appeared to be correct, Chelsea head coach Rosenior admitted his team rode their luck to win.
“Both VAR decisions were correct,” Rosenior said.
“It was a dangerous challenge [by Dobson] and if you are offside, you are offside.
“But we needed that element of luck today because Wrexham were so good in their performance.
“They were magnificent in their energy and how brave they were in the press.
“We had to be at a high, high level tonight because we were pushed by a very good team.
“Wrexham threw caution to the wind. It’s a cup tie, you expect balls in the box, crosses from wide areas.
“In these cup ties, you can feel the emotion and they are very difficult games to play in.
“Lots of Premier League teams will find that in this competition, but we just need to recover and prepare for a big game on Wednesday [against Paris Saint-Germain] now.”
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Chelsea’s win was driven by a star performance by Garnacho, who scored one and created another in his side’s win.
And Rosenior praised the former Manchester United winger for his decisive contribution.
“I feel he’s in a good place, he’s in a great place,” Rosenior said.
“His goal was top, his energy levels were magnificent considering he played a full 90 minutes on Wednesday.
“He’s in a really good place and it’s really good to see him get his firm in a really important stage of the season.”
