\n
Christopher Nkunku scored the first goal of Maresca\u2019s tenure but wholesale changes at the break saw Chelsea collapse completely as Wrexham leveled and eventually took the lead 70 minutes in. Only a late strike from Lesley Ugochukwu spared their blushes.<\/p>\n
As is tradition with every pre-season friendly, it\u2019s time to overreact and draw unnecessary conclusions. Here are six key talking points from the 2-2 draw.<\/p>\n
\n
Levi Colwill vs James McClean<\/h2>\n
Just two minutes into this \u2018friendly\u2019, Levi Colwill and James McClean found themselves scrapping in the centre of the pitch.<\/p>\n
A late challenge from the Wrexham winger clearly irritated Colwill, and the pair ended up with hands at each other\u2019s throats, grabbing collars and refusing to let go. Two definite red cards on any other day.<\/p>\n
Ill-discipline was an issue with Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s\u00a0Chelsea. Maresca must ensure things don\u2019t spiral out of control again.<\/p>\n
\n
Romeo Lavia is back with a bang<\/h2>\n
Maresca\u2019s style is all about controlling possession in midfield, and Romeo Lavia looked remarkably comfortable taking charge of proceedings on his return from such a lengthy battle with injury.<\/p>\n
The young midfielder played just 45 minutes and, while we must remember this is a pre-season friendly against a League One side, fans could not help but get excited about the future with Lavia in this team.<\/p>\n
Things fell apart after the break, and it\u2019s no coincidence that Lavia was not on the pitch when things started to go wrong.<\/p>\n
\n
Christopher Nkunku flashes his eye for goal<\/h2>\n
Nkunku balled out last pre-season before a nasty knee injury robbed him of pretty much his entire debut season. The Frenchman will feel like a new signing this year and picked up where he left off last summer with another goal here.<\/p>\n
He opened the scoring with an instinctive strike shortly after the hour mark, crashing home after some penalty-box pinball and flashing the goalscoring vision that Chelsea have so often lacked over the past few years.<\/p>\n
Getting Nkunku purring must be one of Maresca\u2019s top priorities.<\/p>\n
\n
Marc Guiu makes the most of his opportunity<\/h2>\n
Teenage striker Marc Guiu started the game and undoubtedly caught the eye in his first 45-minute cameo of his Chelsea career.<\/p>\n
Again, the context of the game is important to remember, but Guiu\u2019s desire to impact the game was truly impressive. He charged after every loose ball, did everything he could to cause problems for Wrexham\u2019s defenders and even earned comparisons to former Blue Diego Costa because of his tenacity.<\/p>\n
You only get to make one first impression, and Guiu did not let that chance pass him by.<\/p>\n
\n
Tactical issues on show for both Wrexham goals<\/h2>\n
Maresca made wholesale changes at half-time and went for a more inexperienced side, many of whom clearly did not look as comfortable in his unique tactical setup and those who preceeded them.<\/p>\n
Two errors playing out from the back allowed Wrexham to take the lead by the 70th minute, with this iteration of Chelsea\u2019s team looking incredibly uncomfortable against supposedly inferior opposition.<\/p>\n
The perils of Maresca\u2019s high-risk style of play.<\/p>\n
\n
A tale of two halves<\/h2>\n
Chelsea went strong to start the game but, with fitness the most important thing, Maresca made ten changes at the break, with only Carney Chukwuemeka playing the full 90 minutes. The first half performance was good. The second half, however\u2026<\/p>\n
The team looked lost at sea, being pulled around at both ends of the field and unable to lay a finger on their opponents. The midfield pivot lost control and there seemed to be no positional understanding anywhere.<\/p>\n
If these issues are going to present themselves, pre-season is the perfect time. The group are learning a new style of play and are inevitably going to need time to get there, but it\u2019s clear that some players need more patience than others.<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Christopher Nkunku scored the first goal of Maresca\u2019s tenure but wholesale changes at the break saw Chelsea collapse completely as Wrexham leveled and eventually took the lead 70 minutes in. Only a late strike from Lesley Ugochukwu spared their blushes. As is tradition with every pre-season friendly, it\u2019s time to overreact and draw unnecessary conclusions. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":203178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
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