Chelsea 5-0 Wrexham: The Mauricio Pochettino era is up and running as the Blues put five past Hollywood-owned League Two newboys thanks to Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Ben Chilwell

Ian Maatsen got the Premier League side off the perfect start after just three minutes, tapping home from close range past Ben Foster. 

The Dutchman was teed up brilliantly by new team-mate Nicolas Jackson, who was handed a start at the earliest opportunity following his £32million summer switch from Villarreal. 

Having taken an early lead, the Blues settled into the rhythm under little pressure from the League Two outfit, and were able to command possession throughout a one-sided opening 45 minutes.  

Cesare Casadei showed Chelsea fans what to expect from the young Italian, gliding through midfield on a number of occasions in an impressive first half performance, with Portugal’s Diego Moreira also catching the eye on the right. 

Moreira supplied Maatsen with his second of the game following a strong run from outside to in, cutting past a Wrexham challenge before feeding Carney Chukwuemeka on the edge of the box. Moreira continued his run to draw the Welsh side’s defence to the right, leaving space for the former Burnley loanee to finish low into the bottom right corner. 

Ian Maatsen starred in the first half with a brace as Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead in the clash

The second half began with much more promise from the League Two side, who had made six changes to match their opponents, as Paul Mullin broke free down the right flank, but his flashed ball in was just in front of Sam Dalby inside the box. 

Raheem Sterling – on at the break – then had the chance of the second period, after Casadei once again brought his side forward with a stunning run through the middle. The England forward was unmarked inside the box out on the left, and after the Italian had cut back inside upon reaching the Wrexham box, his cross was just too high for Sterling to get over, and the header flew wide of Rob Lainton’s goal. 

But despite the 19 changes between the two teams, Chelsea remained on top throughout the encounter, with Conor Gallagher rubber-stamping Mauricio Pochettino’s first win as manager late in the game. 

Sterling held the ball under pressure out on the left, before cutting inside and laying off for the midfielder to strike from the edge of the box, the ball arrowing into the bottom left corner beyond a diving Lainton for the Blues’ third goal of the game. 

But the Premier League side were not done there, with Christopher Nkunku – brought on at the break for his debut – latching onto a Casadei through ball that carved through the Wrexham defence for the most simple of finishes, rounding Lainton and slamming home into an empty net. 

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