Liam Rosenior admits Chelsea rode their luck against ‘magnificent’ Wrexham

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior admitted his side got lucky after avoiding an FA Cup scare in a pulsating tie at Wrexham.

The Londoners twice trailed to the ambitious Welsh outfit at a raucous Stok Cae Ras but battled back to reach the quarter-finals with a breathless 4-2 success after extra time.

Chelsea benefited from one huge stroke of fortune as their first equaliser came via an own goal while Wrexham had a player sent off and a goal disallowed for a narrow offside.

Rosenior made nine changes for the clash as he rotated his squad with Wednesday’s trip to Paris St Germain in mind and was relieved his side were able to scrape home.

“That’s the reason why the FA Cup is what it is,” Rosenior said. “I thought Wrexham were magnificent – magnificent in their energy, how brave they were and how they played.

“We had to be at a high, high level. We were pushed all the way by very good team.

“We needed elements of luck today because Wrexham were that good.”

With Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac watching, Wrexham took the lead through Sam Smith’s well-taken opener, but Chelsea levelled when a George Thomason clearance rebounded in off Arthur Okonkwo.

An #EmiratesFACup run to be incredibly proud of, @Wrexham_AFC