Three Nigeria-eligible players shine in Chelsea’s pre-season friendly draw against Wrexham

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Earlier this morning, three Nigeria-eligible players—Tyrique George, Arthur Okonkwo, and Lesley Ugochukwu—were on show at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, as Chelsea played to a 2-2 draw against AFC Wrexham in a pre-season friendly.

Chelsea’s new head coach, Enzo Maresca, utilized his new signings, including Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo. For Wrexham, Okonkwo started in goal and was substituted after 60 minutes.

The game began with a feisty start when Chelsea’s Levi Colwill clashed with Wrexham’s James McClean within the first two minutes. The situation quickly de-escalated with the intervention of teammates and the referee.

In the 35th minute, Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock. Tyrique George’s shot from the edge of Wrexham’s box deflected off Marc Guiu and fell to Nkunku, who promptly scored.

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Wrexham equalized on the hour mark when Luke Bolton scored from a low cross by Sebastian Revan, which the Chelsea defense failed to clear. Jack Marriot then put Wrexham ahead in the 71st minute, capitalizing on a brilliant pass from Sam Dalby.

Chelsea’s Lesley Ugochukwu came off the bench to rescue a draw in the 82nd minute, finishing off a series of intricate passes in Wrexham’s box.

The draw delighted Wrexham’s coach Phil Parkinson, who noted, “You have to put it into context, they spent so much money on that team and we were in the National League two years ago and we went toe-to-toe and could have won the game.”

Ugochukwu was initially selected by Thierry Henry for France’s Olympic men’s team but was withdrawn by Chelsea for their pre-season preparations.