Chelsea dominates with 5-0 soccer victory over Wrexham in FC Series match

While Chelsea, the Premier League powerhouse, had the presumed upper hand heading into Wednesday’s friendly, the young squad also had a lot to prove.

Chelsea’s match against Wrexham was Mauricio Pochettino’s first match as the program’s manager. And as for the squad he brought over to the U.S.? The average age of his starting 11 was 20.9.

Still, a young Chelsea team that has faced considerable turnover this offseason proved to be remarkably coherent on Wednesday. In a 5-0 win over Wrexham in a sold-out crowd at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Ian Maatsen led the effort for the Blues with two goals in the third and 42nd minutes. Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Ben Chilwell each added a goal and Chelsea, as expected, dominated possession to the tune of 65%.

Pochettino said he is happy with the attitude his team showed, but it’s time to improve. He said his players now need “time and space” to show they can compete for a spot in the club.

“This is part of the process in this period to learn in the way that we want to play and, of course, to build the physical condition also,” he said. “I am happy with the performance.”

The Blues had a historically bad season last year, made even worse considering the abundance of young talent on the team. Chelsea struggled to score goals — only racking up 38 goals in 38 games — and recorded its worst points finish in the Premier League era.

And while the Blues lacked offensive rhythm last year, they kicked off Wednesday night’s friendly with a bang.

Chelsea immediately put the pressure on Wrexham with a goal from Maatsen less than three minutes into the match. Assisted by Nicolas Jackson, Maatsen booted the ball just under a diving Ben Foster in goal.

Maatsen followed up with another goal in the 42nd minute on a left-footed shot. Assisted by Carney Chukwuemeka, he delivered another powerful strike, this time to the bottom-right corner.

From there, Wrexham fell apart. Chelsea took advantage.

In the 80th minute, Conor Gallagher extended Chelsea’s lead to 3-0. Raheem Sterling assisted on the goal, adding to his impressive performance at forward for the Blues.

Christopher Nkunku — the Frenchman who joined Chelsea for £53 million this summer — scored his debut goal in the 90th minute. He was followed by a finishing touch from captain Ben Chilwell, who capped off the game with a left-footed boot in the third minute of stoppage time.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, despite the final score, didn’t chalk the friendly up as a total loss. Yes, the rapid string of three goals to close out the game left a sour taste, but it didn’t spoil the unique opportunity for the program — to test out different lineups against a top-tier opponent and play in front of a crowd of over 50,000 fans.

“I thought we worked very hard, and we had to because Chelsea have so many technical players,” Parkinson said. “Against a very good team, I thought we had chances. We just weren’t clinical enough in that final third, which we’re normally good at, but that will come.”

And even in a lopsided game, there was thorough fanfare on both sides for Kenan Stadium’s first international soccer match. In the hot and humid weather, pre-match parties took place hours before the tilt, with Chelsea fans dominating the Kenan Ampitheater and Wrexham fans setting up shop at the Bell Tower.

At the open practice on Tuesday evening at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, Chelsea and Wrexham had the opportunity to engage with eager fans. Children and adults alike lined the walls of the stadium, leaning over barriers to snap a selfie or snag an autograph from their favorite player.

Parkinson said that, as he and his “lads” have walked about Chapel Hill this week, they’ve been “blown away” by the number of U.S. fans clad in Wrexham merch. The Welsh club, which earned promotion to English soccer’s fourth tier last season, has risen to fame thanks to the globally-streamed docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham.”

“It’s important to spread the word that (soccer) is a great game,” Parkinson said on Wednesday. “It can be entertaining and it can be a fantastic spectacle.”

The good news for fans of both programs? Wrexham and Chelsea will be back in action in a matter of days.

Wrexham will play next on July 22 in Los Angeles against LA Galaxy II in its next stop of the Red Dragon’s four-game preseason U.S. tour. Chelsea will play next in the Premier League pre-season tournament in Philadelphia on July 22 against Brighton.

Photos: Chelsea FC defeats Wrexham AFC in long-awaited match at UNC’s Kenan Stadium