After two defensive blunders in a 2-2 draw with Wrexham in his first game in charge, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca declared that his team “are going to concede goals this season playing out from the back.”
In Santa Clara, California, midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu scored an equalizer in the 82nd minute to negate two goals the League One team had scored in the second half.
In the thirty-fifth minute of Chelsea’s first friendly on their preseason tour of the United States, Christopher Nkunku scored with a crisp finish in the penalty area.
However, Wrexham surprised everyone by taking the lead after both sides made significant changes at halftime, with goals coming from Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott.
Chelsea struggled in the second half as they adjusted to Maresca’s possession-based style, which included defensive blunders.
With a half-empty Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, on Saturday, Wrexham excelled, adding to their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.
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.
Maresca was asked about conceding goals through his playing philosophy, which included more patient build-up from back to front.
“Hopefully, not too many. It is one of the risks that you have trying to build from behind.”
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.”