Chelsea and Wrexham players fight TWO MINUTES into heated pre-season friendly

Levi Colwill and James McClean engaged in a heated altercation, when they each forcefully seized each other’s shirts.

Levi Colwill had to be separated from James McClean as the Chelsea defender responded unfavourably to a late tackle by the Wrexham player, mere moments into their pre-season match in the United States.

During Wednesday’s pre-season friendly, a physical altercation occurred between Chelsea defender Levi Colwill and Wrexham attacker James McClean, prompting intervention from referees, team-mates, and coaches to separate them.

The event occurred unexpectedly, while Chelsea were securely keeping possession in their own half. However, when Colwill transferred the ball to his teammate, defender Benoit Badiashile, McClean aggressively moved forward and was immediately attacked by the prominent Chelsea player.

Colwill forcefully seized McClean’s shirt by the collar and engaged in a wrestling match, persistently holding on until players and coaches intervened to separate them. Both players involved in the incident did not face any more consequences, since the referee chose not to issue any cards as the match was a friendly.

Chelsea’s tour of the US got off to an unusually intense start on the opening night of the US pre-season tour for both clubs at Levi’s Stadium in California.

Wrexham came close to causing an upset, with only eight minutes remaining before Lesley Ugochukwu’s last-minute goal resulted in a draw.

Following the acquisition by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham has gained significant popularity in North America, primarily attributed to the success of the highly acclaimed documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’. The Welsh team has achieved consecutive promotions and will compete in League One in the upcoming season, following only one season in League Two.

They received enthusiastic support from the crowd in Santa Clara, while the American fans, who were biassed towards them, were shocked by the incident that occurred only two minutes into the game.

Colwill’s response was unwarranted, but, it is customary for the level of aggressiveness in pre-season games to be significantly reduced since players are eager to prevent any injuries before to the commencement of the new season. Colwill will seek to secure his position in Maresca’s strategies for the match against Manchester City on August 18.

However, McClean’s game has consistently relied on physicality, particularly when facing a more skilled adversary. Out of the 158 times McClean played in the Premier League, he committed fouls on 155 occasions and was punished for them.

Additionally, McClean accumulated a total of 29 yellow cards and one red card throughout his tenure in the Premier League. Furthermore, he has been expelled from the pitch on two separate occasions. McClean’s prior experience will be advantageous for Wrexham in League One, a competition he emerged victorious in with Wigan in the 2022/23 season.

Following the 2-2 tie, Phil Parkinson, the manager of Wrexham, expressed that it is important to consider the circumstances. He noted that the opposing team had invested a significant amount of money in their squad, whereas Wrexham had only recently been in the National League. Despite this, Wrexham competed on an equal footing and had a genuine chance of winning the match.