Enzo Maresca has work to do! Winners & losers as Chelsea turn in sloppy performance against Wrexham in new boss' first contest

Chelsea fans had every reason to be excited about Nkunku when the Blues brought him in last year. After all, he was an elite presence at RB Leipzig in the 2022-23 season, and arguably the best player in the Bundesliga for long stretches of the season.

But like so many, he saw his campaign impacted by injuries - and never really found a groove at Stamford Bridge. That, of course, will have to change this year, especially if he stays fit. His role here is unclear, but with Nico Jackson not quite reliable enough to carry the goalscoring load, someone will have to chip in. Nkunku's tidy finish was a fine start.

Growing pains were always going to be a part of this preseason for Chelsea. Maresca, after all, is a new manager, overseeing a team with too many players, trying to implement an entirely new style. Throw in the fact that he will certainly have his critics as a coach given his lack of top flight experience, and this was never going to be easy. It proved as such. Chelsea didn't get the expected result here, and were simply abysmal after the break.

There were positives to be found. This was hardly a thriller, there were the outlines of a new team here. The build up structure was in place in the first half. The full-backs inverted. Forwards made the right runs, and, at times, his team looked deadly on the break.

Still, some of the defending was simply woeful. He has work to do if Chelsea are to push for Europe this year.

This must be made clear: Wrexham are a pretty good football team. Now in League One, the celebrity-owned side have improved year-by-year, and have gone toe-to-toe with two Premier League sides over the past week.

What started as something of a vanity project has become a bit more serious. Whether the celebrity owners truly believed that this team might be reasonably good or not is up for debate, but they played some good stuff here. Yes, they are further into their preseason than Chelsea. Yes, it is only a friendly. But this was a classic performance from a lower division side against a Premier League team: disciplined, clever and brave. They're not just a documentary anymore.

After his omission from Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad, you would figure that Chilwell would come into this game looking to make a statement. After all, the vice-captain might have felt every right to be aggrieved when the then-England manager refused to take a left-footed left-back to the tournament.

If there was any additional fire about him, it clearly wasn't on display here. Chilwell was sloppy from his introduction, making countless loose passes, and failing to connect with the players in front of him. He was also at fault for Wrexham's goal, getting his positioning all wrong at the far post and allowing an easy tap-in.

Well, Lavia is alive. The former Southampton man spent most of last season on the sidelines with various ankle injuries after securing a big-money move in the final days of the transfer window. It was a largely frustrating campaign for a player who had promised so much, so young in a defensive midfield role for the Saints.

It was of encouragement, then, that he was able to start here. And he turned in a solid performance at the base of midfield. Chelsea were a poor watch for the most part, but Lavia remained clean in central areas, moving the ball and covering gaps when needed. Yes, this was one game - and there will have to be more of them. Still, Lavia showed glimpses of what he might be able to offer.

So much for having too many players to work with. A lot has been made of Chelsea's squad. Even after some pretty extensive outgoings - with more surely to come - this is still an overstuffed thing. That has its benefits, of course. Maresca, in theory, has a wealth of talent to dip into - something he will need to do with his team fighting on four fronts.

But the second half revealed that he might not have as much to work with as he thought. He made 10 changes at the break, and few of the substitutes can say they affected the game in a positive way. Yes, some guys were missing here. Others were on holiday after Euro 2024 or Copa America. Despite all of that, there remains some fat to trim.