Chelsea needed every second of extra time to put 10-man Wrexham away. If any of the fans had come into this game expecting an easy outing, they were handed a rude awakening. One could easily argue that the Championship side were the better team on the night and deserved to go through. They outplayed the Blues for the most part, even when a man down.
Ultimately, Chelsea’s individual quality showed through. Alejandro Garnacho, Josh Acheampong and Joao Pedro saved the day, while Wrexham were unlucky with an own goal as well. It ended 4-2 in favour of the Blues. But the difference between the two sides was much narrower than the scoreline suggests.
Coming out of the game, there were not too many positives for Chelsea fans to look into. After the 4-1 away win over Aston Villa, this display feels like a step back, if anything.
Quite a few players are facing criticism for their performance on the night. Pedro Neto’s might be at the very top of that list.
Pedro Neto slammed by Chelsea fans for performance vs Wrexham
Neto was one of the few regular starters who was named on the team against Wrexham. He should have been the one to make sure that there were no hiccups and that Chelsea saw the game through. Instead, he put in a poor performance and made it more difficult for Liam Rosenior’s men.
As one Chelsea fan wrote on X: “Pedro Neto’s playing like a player that thinks he should’ve been afforded the night off and sees himself on a similar level to Caicedo, Palmer and Fernandez.”
Another said regarding Neto’s performance against Wrexham: “Neto has been woeful tonight.”
On the other hand, Garnacho might be starting to earn himself some plaudits with his recent outings. One wrote: “I don’t know you can watch Garnacho and Neto and think the latter is the better player. Garnacho is so clear at everything.”
Neto needs to improve and drastically
Of course, Neto had already been facing criticism from the fans, after being sent off against Arsenal. And his performance against Wrexham won’t have done much to win them over.
To be very honest, Neto’s performances at the summer’s Club World Cup had been brilliant. And in the first half of the season, he had been one of Chelsea’s better players. At least in terms of the numbers he was putting up.
Unfortunately, he has not been able to build on that and has regressed over the course of the campaign. He has not scored a goal in the Premier League since his strike against Leeds United on December 4. On the other hand, he has not scored or assisted in the Champions League at all. 5 of his 10 goals this season have come against lower league opposition in cup competitions.
In the Premier League, he has scored against West Ham, Nottingham, Burnley, Leeds United and Wolves. Three of those teams are currently in the relegation zone. Forest are in 17th. And the Peacocks are best placed amongst them, 15th. So, there needs to be a serious conversation regarding Neto’s season as well as his long-term future at Chelsea.
