BREAKING NEWS: Wrexham boss finally breaks silence after Levi Colwill and James McClean Chelsea brawl

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has claimed he was pleased with his team’s ‘fight’ in their pre-season friendly against Chelsea.

Just three minutes were on the clock when Levi Colwill and James McClean clashed following a late challenge by the Wrexham man in the pre-season game held in California overnight. The Republic of Ireland international caught the defender after he played the ball which Colwill took exception to.

Soon things escalated dramatically as each player grabbed hold of the other’s shirt as both sets of teammates tried to defuse the situation. Chelsea then took the lead in the first half thanks to Christopher Nkunku but the Welsh team turned the tables through Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott’s goals.

A draw was rescued for Chelsea with eight minutes of normal time remaining thanks to Lesley Ugochukwu. Speaking after the game, Parkinson was delighted with the manner in which the friendly was played and the result for his side.

“We’ve taken on a team that has probably spent about a billion pounds over the last two transfer windows. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with them,” he said.

“First half, we were good out of possession. Second half, we married both sides of the game together really well, we got two goals.

“That’s a hell of a shift the lads have put in today, and obviously I’m very pleased. The gulf in quality… two years ago we were in the National League, we’re building slowly but surely as a club. Chelsea are an established club, normally competing in the Champions League most years.

“There were some really good performances from us. They made 10 changes at half-time and we stood strong in that period, and our subs gave us some impetus ourselves.

“The lads are pleased and so they should be. We give everything, we fight for every ball over the pitch, and we showed that tonight.”

Next up for the Blues is a trip to the Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana for a clash with Celtic.