Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has defended his side’s style of play despite two defensive errors that caused two goals against Wrexham.
Midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu scored an 82nd-minute equalizer in Santa Clara, California, canceling out two second-half strikes by the League One side.
Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring in Chelsea‘s pre-season friendly, sending in a sharp finish from the penalty box.
But Wrexham took a surprise lead after both teams made big changes at half-time with Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott scoring following mistakes.
The defensive errors were part of a weak second-half performance as Chelsea adapted to Maresca’s possession-based approach.
Wrexham has been in great form and they just added to their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday in a half-empty Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
It is the Welsh club’s second consecutive US pre-season tour, capitalising on their popularity under co-owners, Hollywood actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, with Phil Parkinson’s side preparing for third-tier football for the first time since 2005.
“Hopefully, not too many. It is one of the risks that you have trying to build from behind,” Maresca said.
And the 44-year-old former Leicester boss said he would “absolutely” continue his style, adding: “I have no doubt. I think you are going to concede in different ways, so you need to decide in which way you need to concede a goal.
“Sometimes teams that try to build from the back concede goals but I think you are going to score more than you concede.
“For sure, we did many things we can improve, but we started just two weeks ago. Tonight was important to start seeing the identity of the team and the identity is there.”
The Blues next face Scottish champions Celtic in Notre Dame on Saturday night (Sunday morning BST) as Maresca continues to learn about his squad. “Tonight the target was to give all of them 45 minutes. It is too early to think about the first XI.
