It was everything an FA Cup tie should be, as six goals were scored, one player was sent off and a Premier League side received a huge scare, requiring villainous technology to save them from a likely penalty shootout. The only thing missing was an upset but Chelsea will not mind triumphing against Wrexham in a classic of the genre.
Goals from Sam Smith and Callum Doyle twice gave the Championship side the lead, only for an Arthur Okonkwo own goal and Josh Acheampong’s strike to take the game into extra time. Garnacho, who had earlier been the victim of a red-card challenge from George Dobson, volleyed home the winner. If not for the video assistant referee, the match would probably have gone to penalties but Lewis Blunt’s equaliser was ruled out by the finest of margins. João Pedro added a fourth in added time to remove any lasting jeopardy.
After 18 minutes without either side having a shot, there was little indication of what was to come. Wrexham brought the element of surprise to the fixture when Doyle pinged the ball 50 yards down the pitch, which the Chelsea centre-back Benoit Badiasshile did not anticipate and misjudged. Smith knew it was coming and impressively took the pass down, forcing Robert Sánchez into a decision; the goalkeeper panicked and backtracked, giving the one-time Bishop’s Stortford striker plenty of space to run into, before slotting home. Cue shots of the Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac in the crowd, while the other 9,000 became delirious.
