WREXHAM, Wales — Welcome to the Premier League, Wrexham.
The Hollywood-owned EFL Championship team are dreaming of reaching the biggest and most glamorous league in the world. Still, Chelsea and Alejandro Garnacho gave them an early warning of what to expect if they make it this season.
Wrexham showed they are ready to mix it with the best in their 4-2 FA Cup fifth round defeat, but the Premier League can be brutal and unforgiving and Chelsea — with a little help from VAR — served notice of the killer instinct of the top teams.
– VAR review: Why was Wrexham’s Dobson sent off for foul on Garnacho?
– After five years of Reynolds/Mac, Wrexham are on cusp of Premier League
– Championship promotion race: Who’s going up to the Premier League?
Despite twice taking the lead against the FIFA Club World Cup champions in Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Stok Cae Ras, with owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds watching from their executive box, Wrexham ultimately couldn’t cope with the Premier League class of Liam Rosenior’s team.
And Garnacho, Chelsea’s £40 million summer signing from Manchester United, was the difference: an example of the ruthless attacking quality that the top Premier League teams possess.
“It was our hardest game of the season so far,” Garnacho told BBC Sport.
“These games, you have to fight and they [Wrexham] played really good. We saw the best of them, but we came through at the end.”
Garnacho can be a frustrating watch and is often the kind of player who forces his teammates to throw their arms in the air, exasperating them with his decision-making in the final third.
But when he performs, the 21-year-old can be deadly, and Wrexham discovered how dangerous Garnacho can be when given the time and space to hurt opponents.
Garnacho created Chelsea’s first goal and scored their third, and in between, he drew the second-half foul by George Dobson that led to the Wrexham midfielder being shown a red card by referee Peter Bankes following a VAR review for serious foul play.
Dobson took Garnacho out with a reckless high tackle as the winger was sprinting down the Chelsea left flank. It was a brutal challenge, but it summed up Wrexham’s desperation in terms of dealing with a player who has shown in the past his ability to decide the biggest games.
Had he been more consistent, Garnacho would probably still be at United, but his potential was why Chelsea overlooked the negative elements of his profile to sign him, and their decision was repaid with his performance against Wrexham.
The home side’s third-round win against Nottingham Forest was their first encounter with Premier League opposition since Mac and Reynolds bought the club five years ago.
That game ended with a penalty shootout win and it gave Wrexham the belief that they could make the step up to the top flight, but while Forest showed what the Premier League is about, and Wrexham dealt with it, Chelsea delivered a lesson in what it’s like at the sharp end.
To survive in the Premier League, teams need to cope with the pace and skill of players such as Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland or Bukayo Saka.
Garnacho is maybe a midranking attacking star, and Wrexham will need a few of their own if they leap the top division. But for most of this game, Wrexham kept their illustrious opponents in check.
They took the lead through striker Sam Smith on 18 minutes and were comfortable enough to chase a second, but Chelsea always carried a threat on the break, and it was borne out on 40 minutes when Garnacho’s cross was deflected into the Wrexham net following a mix-up between goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and George Thomason.
Wrexham’s spirit and tenacity enabled them to match up again in the second half and when they restored their lead through Callum Doyle on 79 minutes, a place in the quarterfinals seemed to be theirs, but within three minutes, Chelsea had leveled again through Josh Acheampong.
The key moment came in the 90th minute when Garnacho burst down the left and only Dobson’s wild challenge could stop him.
Referee Bankes initially yellow-carded Dobson, but a VAR review led to the card being upgraded to a red, a decision backed by Chelsea boss Rosenior — “It was a dangerous challenge,” he said.
The sending off left Wrexham with 10 players for the extra time that followed, Chelsea took advantage. Their superior quality allowed them to control the ball and possession. Garnacho gave them the lead for the first time when he volleyed Dário Essugo‘s cross past Okonkwo six minutes into extra time.
It was a clinical finish by Garnacho and another example of his ability, but Wrexham still fought back and thought they had equalized when Lewis Brunt’s close-range goal was disallowed for offside by VAR.
João Pedro‘s goal in the final minute that made it 4-2 to Chelsea ensured a scoreline that didn’t reflect the reality of the 120 minutes. But even though Wrexham exited the FA Cup, they proved they can handle it against the best of the Premier League.
Their priority now is to win promotion, and Tuesday’s Championship game against Hull City is undoubtedly bigger than this one.
As for Chelsea, they face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League next, but they will be back at Wrexham sooner rather than later; they can be sure of that.
