The Red Dragons pushed the Blues all the way at the Racecourse ground, taking the game to extra time and only capitulating after going down to 10 men and forcing Liam Rosenior to throw on the big guns he’d hoped to save for European action.
At the death, Wrexham thought they’d levelled until VAR – something Championship sides are unaccustomed to – ruled out an effort by sub Lewis Brunt.
Then Joao Pedro made certain of victory with a late goal to make it 4-2 at the final whistle; a scoreline which simply did not reflect the evenness of the 5th Round encounter.
Blues fans among the 10,000-strong crowd were put through the wringer by a team which has leapfrogged up the divisions, enjoying three successive promotions.
Chelsea's Joao Pedro (left) celebrates with his team mates after scoring his sides fourth goal during the Emirates FA Cup fifth round match at SToK Racecourse, Wrexham (Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
“Wrexham were magnificent,” admitted Rosenior, who risked playing an unfamiliar three-at-the-back in defence. “We were pushed all the way by a very good team. We need to find a way to manage games better, but what we have is a really good spirit and belief, and a determination to win games.”
That spirit was epitomised by Alejandro Garnacho, who scored Chelsea’s third goal and is currently in such a rich vein of form that he (together with fellow winger Pedro Neto) is almost guaranteed a starting place.
Although it would have been an embarrassing exit for Chelsea, Wrexham earned huge kudos for going toe-to-toe with the Blues for so long. Only George Dobson’s red card for a reckless challenge on Garnacho finally tilted the balance the Londoners’ way.
“Ally is in a great place,” agreed Rosenior. “His goal was tops, and his energy levels for 120 minutes were magnificent, considering he’d played a full 90 minutes on Wednesday.”
Tellingly, Garnacho was regularly booed by the boisterous home fans, but didn’t let the barracking get to him.
Newcastle will really fancy their chances at Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s 5.30pm kick-off. They will be hoping that the Blues will be too jaded after all the cup action to refocus on the league.