Chelsea 0 – 0 Wrexham
New signing Christopher Nkunku was among the goalscorers as Chelsea secured a 5–0 win over Ryan Reynolds’ League Two team Wrexham in the first game of their US tour.
Mauricio Pochettino took to the dugout for the first time as Blues boss and named a young starting XI but included new summer arrival Nicholas Jackson in attack.
It took little time for the Senegalese international to make his mark, volleying past a challenge in the third minute to put Ian Matsen through.
Dutch left-back Matsen, 21, doubled his tally before half-time as he exchanged passes with Carny Chukwuemeka and scored a stunning effort from 18 yards.
Nkunku was one of several new arrivals in the interval as Pochettino gave his experienced chiefs more time to impress.
Nevertheless, it took until the 80th minute for them to increase their lead, when a Connor Gallagher drive made it three after good work from fellow half-time substitute Raheem Sterling.
Nkunku’s goal came in the final minute of normal time when the French forward fired past goalkeeper Rob Lainton.
There was still time for another goal, as Ben Chilwell was deep on goal in stoppage time after taking a defence-splitting pass from another new signing, Angelo Gabriel.
Pochettino impressed with young guns’ performance
The average age of Pochettino’s starting XI was barely over 19, and the new head coach paid tribute to the quality of his professional performances in front of 50,000 fans in North Carolina.
“It’s good to have the opportunity to see all these youngsters who can show their quality,” he added. chelsea.com, “It’s important for him and us to make a realistic assessment. Obviously everyone has quality, they just need time and space to show they can compete for a place in the team.”
Very nice profile [Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei] and Carney (Chukwumeka). They have the profile, all they need is time.
“They are young and we can’t forget that we are at Chelsea, the pressure is always to win. They should have space, time to develop. But yes, the profile is good.”
Chelsea open the season against Liverpool, live on Sky
Mauricio Pochettino will take charge of Chelsea for the first time when they start the 2023/24 Premier League season at Liverpool’s home ground, LIVE sky gameOn Sunday 13th August.
Chelsea travel to London rivals West Ham on 19 August before welcoming newly promoted Luton Town to Stamford Bridge on 26 August.
Pochettino will visit his former club Tottenham on 4 November with his return scheduled for 24 February.
Watch the Premier League Summer Series on Sky
The first Premier League summer series featuring Chelsea, Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Brentford and Aston Villa will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United States.
The five east coast states will host a nine-match friendly tournament from July 23 to 30 to prepare for the new Premier League season.
Each team will play three matches and will not face the same opponent more than once.
Matches will take place at five venues down the East Coast: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; Exploria Stadium, Orlando; Red Bull Arena, New Jersey; FedExfield, Landover, Maryland.
