How Wayne Rooney felt about the Wrexham AFC atmosphere v Chelsea | OneFootball

It appears that England icon Rooney was blown away by his visit to North Wales for Wrexham's FA Cup barnstormer with the Blues...

In an absolutely barnstorming FA Cup clash on Saturday evening, Championship promotion hopefuls Wrexham took Chelsea to their limit, but just fell slightly short of completing a famous upset.

Despite a heavily rotated Blues side due to a UEFA Champions League clash upcoming on Wednesday against PSG, the likes of Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto lined up from the start at the Racecourse Ground, yet fell behind twice in normal time to Phil Parkinson's side.

Goals from Sam Smith and Callum Doyle though on 18 and 78 minutes respectively were answered by an unfortunate Arthur Okonkwo own goal and an emphatic finish from defender Josh Acheampong, and as the game was set to enter extra time, the Red Dragons' hopes were somewhat crushed by a red card given to midfielder George Dobson.

It left Wrexham with a mountain to climb for the extra 30 minutes, and as it happened, goals from Garnacho and Joao Pedro sealed a 4-2 win for Chelsea with their additional man, although the hosts had an equaliser chalked off as Lewis Brunt was marginally offside when he turned in a Kieffer Moore flick on.

Wayne Rooney makes big claim on Wrexham AFC's atmosphere during Chelsea clash

Despite the loss for Wrexham, it was somewhat of a 'proper' cup tie of years gone by, proving that there was still some magic left in the competition despite many top flight clubs choosing to shuffle the pack nowadays.

And one individual in particular who enjoyed his STōK Cae Ras experience was none other than England international icon Wayne Rooney.

Rooney's younger brother John - now manager of Macclesfield, having guided them to victory in the FA Cup over Crystal Palace in January - spent a season as a player at Wrexham, but having experienced first-hand the atmosphere and the occasion of Saturday, it's fair to say that the ex-Man United and Everton forward was blown away by his time in North Wales and the impact the Red Dragons fans had on him.

"Do you know what? I think it's the most I've enjoyed a game of football since I stopped playing," Rooney revealed on his own BBC podcast.

"I really enjoyed it. Just the atmosphere - we had to walk through the fans quite a bit to get pitchside and stuff, and the fans were great, probably the first time I've been to a stadium and not been given any stick as well!

"That was nice, but just the atmosphere, the game...I thought it was a really good game. Wrexham were excellent."

And whilst Rooney did not get to mingle or chat to Wrexham's Hollywood owners on Saturday, the experience was still a thoroughly enjoyable one, and it's even eclipsed a very memorable recent European match as his favourite in recent times.

"Honestly, I'll say it again, the atmosphere, I really enjoyed it," Rooney added.

"My favourite game since I stopped playing was Barcelona v Inter Milan in the semi-final (of the UEFA Champions League) last year, and this one has taken over. I really enjoyed it."

Wrexham AFC fanbase need to replicate Chelsea atmosphere to help secure Championship play-offs spot

Rooney was referring to the second leg of Inter's win over Barcelona in last season's competition that he was a pundit for on Amazon Prime, which the Italians won 7-6 on aggregate after taking the clash to extra time - Davide Frattesi's goal nine minutes into the extended period sent them into the final to take on PSG.

So, for Wrexham's valiant defeat by Chelsea to eclipse that, and for Rooney to be so excited about the atmosphere the fans created is something that holds some serious weight.

Even though the Racecourse Ground currently only has three stands, with the new Kop behind one of the goals currently under construction, there's still a serious noise that can be made from the three structures that are left standing - especially on a night where there was plenty to cheer about, if not for the end result.

Currently occupying a position within the top six of the Championship, Wrexham have lost just twice in their last 13 league fixtures, albeit both defeats have been at home, and the fanbase may have to get similarly up for every home fixture like they did for Chelsea to get Parkinson's side over the line and into the play-offs - starting with this weeks double header against Hull City and Swansea.