Liam Rosenior, the head coach of Chelsea, praised Alejandro Garnacho after his team won a hard-fought 4-2 extra-time match against Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday. The Championship team pushed the Blues all the way at the Racecourse Ground. After 90 minutes, the score was 2-2, but Garnacho and Joao Pedro scored in extra time to send Chelsea to the quarter-finals.
Chelsea changed nine players from their last game, leaving Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, and Enzo Fernandez at home to prepare for their Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Sam Smith put the home team ahead in the 18th minute with a cool finish on the counter. Chelsea tied the game with an own goal from Arthur Okonkwo before halftime. Callum Doyle put Wrexham back in the lead in the 79th minute, but Josh Acheampong tied the game just three minutes later, sending it to extra time.
In his post-game press conference, Rosenior talked about how Garnacho helped the team win and how well he’s been playing at Stamford Bridge lately.
“I feel he’s in a good place. Ale is in a great place. His goals, his energy levels for 120 minutes were magnificent, considering he played a full 90 on Wednesday. He’s in a really good place, and it’s really, really good to see his form at this really important stage of the season.”
George Dobson got a red card in the 93rd minute for a reckless challenge on Garnacho, which gave Chelsea an extra player for the rest of the game. The Argentine forward took advantage of the situation in the 96th minute, volleying past Okonkwo into the near corner to give the Blues the lead for the first time in the match. He has scored six goals and set up four others in 31 games for Chelsea this season in all competitions.
Rosenior didn’t hesitate when asked if he agreed with Garnacho that it was one of Chelsea’s hardest games of the season.
“I agree. That’s every reason why the FA Cup is what it is. I think they were magnificent. Magnificent in their energy, and how brave they were in the press, and how they played. Then we had to be at a high, high level. We were pushed all the way by a very good team. You’ve got to show character as well.”
Wrexham were playing in the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in 29 years. They had already beaten Nottingham Forest, a Premier League team, in this year’s competition. Even though they lost in the end, many praised their spirited performance.
Chelsea Now in the Hat for FA Cup Quarter-Final Draw on Monday
The draw for the FA Cup quarter-finals will be shown live on TNT Sports from the London Stadium on Monday, March 9, before West Ham’s fifth-round match against Brentford. Joe Hart, a former goalkeeper for Manchester City, will lead the draw at the ceremony, which is set to start at 7:05 PM GMT.
Chelsea have been given ball number seven, which means they could play any of the other teams still in the tournament. Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City are also in the draw, along with Fulham or Southampton, Port Vale or Sunderland, and Leeds United or Norwich City. The quarter-finals will take place on the weekend of April 4–5, right after the international break in March.