PLAYER RATINGS: Chelsea’s Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei make their case in midfield, while Ian Maatsen gets a brace against Wrexham as Mauricio Pochettino’s men win 5-0

Chelsea unofficially kicked off the Mauricio Pochettino era with a 5-0 defeat to heavily outclassed Wrexham.

The Blues and Dragons moved into a sold-out Kenan Stadium, home of the famed University of North Carolina Tarheels. While it wasn’t quite a college football scoreline, it did bring Chelsea preseason pain to the Wales side, owned by Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Christopher Nkunku scored on his debut for the club, while summer rival Nicolas Jackson impressed in the first half.

So did young Dutch prodigy, Ian Maatsen, who scored a brace as Chelsea ran into a 2-0 lead at half-time. Conor Gallagher came off the bench to add third before Nkunku and Ben Chilwell completed the destructive performance.

Here Mail Sport brings player ratings from the first game of Wrexham’s historic journey across the Atlantic.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1)

Jamie Cumming – 5

He didn’t have to save in his time on the field.

Malo Gusto-5

Very comfortable time for the right back, formerly of Lyon. Looked comfortable together with Moreira.

Trevoh Chalobah – 5

Went largely unchallenged in a very comfortable outing.

Bashir Humphreys – 6

Looked comfortable on the ball all the way and provided cover for his fellow defenders.

Marc Cucurella – 5

Was substituted at half time… and came back for Chalobah in the last minutes!

Cesare Casadei was one of Chelsea’s most outstanding players, impressing with his dribbling skills

Caesar Casadei – 8

The former Inter man showed flashes as he drove the ball forward fiercely at times. Made some good runs as he moved forward in the second half.

Andre Santos – 8

Has shown that he has sufficient ball-carrying skills. Done enough to walk away satisfied.

Diego Moreira-6

Struggling to get used to the game early on, but there’s a lot more to come — as evidenced by his passing and pace.

Carney Chukwuemeka – 5

Had moments that will deliver promise for the future. Will need more games in him to create more consistency.

Ian Maatsen and Nicolas Jackson celebrate one of the Dutchman’s two goals in Chapel Hill, NC

Ian Maatsen – 8

Great run in support of Jackson and did what he had to with a clean finish. Combined brilliantly again with Jackson for his second, and even better, finish.

Nicholas Jackson-7

Brilliant run and close control in front of goal. Beautifully weighted pass for Maatsen to score. Did a great job with his back to goal for Maatsen’s second. Enough for Chelsea fans to be excited about.

REPLACEMENTS

Raheem Sterling – 7 (45′)

Wasted a good chance to hit the target shortly after coming off the bench. Should have scored with a free header in the 70th minute. Did a tremendous job setting up Gallagher for the third.

Conor Gallagher – 6 (45′)

Caressed from outside the penalty area – certainly helped by the goalkeeper, who should have done better.

Lucas Bergström – 6 (76′)

Had to make a quick save from a header within minutes of being introduced.

Conor Gallagher scored the penultimate goal of the game with a finish from outside the box

Christopher Nkunku – 6 (45′)

Was largely anonymous for the second half until a late goal came after bypassing the keeper thanks to a slick running back.

Alfie Gilchrist – 6 (45′)

Did well to deny Wrexham a late chance on goal and showed he was prepared to get physical to keep the League Two club at bay.

Angelo Gabriel – 6 (45′)

Sterling let the youngster down with a poor finish after a fantastic ball to the Englishman. An excellent through ball to set up Chilwell showed what he can do.

Lewis Hall – 5 (45′)

Had it easy against Wrexham midfield. Look composed, as he should have.

Wrexham struggled to match the intensity and skill of their beloved Premier League opponents

WREXHAM (3-5-2)

Ben Foster-5

Perhaps he could have reacted faster to the second goal by Maatsen. Otherwise he could do little about Chelsea’s opener.

Eoghan O’Connell – 5

Pressured for most of the first half. Done enough to survive.

Ben Tozer – 4

Struggled to keep Jackson through the middle. The gap in the class turned out.

Tom O’Connor – 4

Like Tozer, he couldn’t deal with the threat from Jackson and Maatsen.

Anthony Forde-5

Provided some width on the right side and made Chelsea’s center halves earn their keep.

Wrexham striker Paul Mullin impressed in his first-half performance for the League Two club

Elliot Lee-6

Mullen aside, Lee was arguably Wrexham’s best. Often looked lively when he touched the ball. His acrobatic bicycle kick was equally exciting – until the direction was realized.

Jacob Mendy-6

Did a good job of avoiding a Chelsea attack before being substituted at half time.

Sam Dalby-5

Couldn’t get to the end of Mullin’s ball early in the second half – and was substituted soon after.

Paul Mullin – 7

By far the best player for Wrexham; provided a much-needed outlet and showed that he could certainly hold his own.

James Jones-5

Andy Cannon – 5.

REPLACEMENTS

Rob Lainton – 4 (45′)

Made a big clearance with his feet to deny Chelsea a shot on goal, but should have saved Gallagher’s effort.

Ryan Barnett – 7 (45′)

Tried to put some power on the right side. Provided a nice ball that should have been an assist. Wrexham’s second best of the night.

Billy Waters – 4 (62′)

A chance to pull one back with 20 minutes left to play completely squandered.

Ollie Palmer – 6 (62′)

Forced save by Bergstrom from a corner that couldn’t be turned in. Cucurella was unable to get another chance on goal.

Ryan Barnett brought some flair from the bench against Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea side

Aaron Hayden – 6 (45′)

He showed what an athlete he can be – his pace was telling, even against the Blues.

Cleworth (’62) – 5,Davies (’62) – 5, McAlinden (’62) – 5, Boyle (’45) – 5, Young (’62) – 5, McFadzean (’45) – 5.