Wrexham ‘should have beaten billionaire Chelsea’, says boss Phil Parkinson

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson believes his side should have beaten “billion-pound team” Chelsea in their pre-season tour of north America.

The newly promoted League One club almost shocked their Premier League rivals in a 2-2 draw watched by 32,724 fans at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Jack Marriott and Luke Bolton’s second-half goals put Wrexham ahead after Christopher Nkunku’s first-half strike, but Lesley Ugochukwu’s 82nd-minute equaliser rescued a draw for new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

Parkinson is impressed by the progress being made by his side, saying: “I am absolutely delighted.

“You’ve got to put it into context. We’ve played a billion-pound team, they’ve spent so much money, and two years ago we were playing in the National League.

“To go toe-to-toe with Chelsea tonight, you can understand what an effort that was from the lads and we could and should have won the game.

“We are disappointed [Sam] Dalby got fouled that the linesman is flagging frantically, and the ref didn’t know and the ball is in the back of our net.

“The new players have come in and slotted in really well for us so far. We are not going to moan too much. It was a proper shift from our boys and we played with belief in the second period and really took the game to them.”