Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior defended his heavy squad rotation after his side edged past 10-man Wrexham to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals. The 41-year-old made nine changes from their 4-1 win at Aston Villa but needed extra-time goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro after Wrexham lost momentum following George Dobson's red card at the end of normal time.

Rosenior has averaged five changes per match and is yet to field the same back four in consecutive games. He has also begun rotating his goalkeepers, Rob Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen. When asked about the risks of such extensive changes, Rosenior acknowledged: "Yeah, that's the risk that you take."

Key players including Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, and Enzo Fernandez were given the night off, while Reece James was an unused substitute. Rosenior emphasized the need to build squad depth, particularly for players like Romeo Lavia returning from injury. "We have to get him up to speed," he said of the midfielder who started his first match in more than four months.