The late strike by Kai Havertz ensured that the Blues won all three points. (1:18) Kai Havertz might be the player that defines it more than any other when it comes to the 19-year reign of Roman Abramovich as the owner of Chelsea. It was his goal in the win against Newcastle that signaled the start of a new era at the club. The Germany international scored the winning goals that secured the title of 2021. Havertz arrived as a 72 million club-record signing back in 2020, so if any player sums up the trophies and transfer-market largesse underAbramovich, it is him. The key questions were answered.
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Nobody knows how life afterAbramovich will be. The UK government imposed sanctions on the Russian billionaire this week because of his links to the Russian president, and his assets have been frozen.
When the league disqualifiedAbramovich as a director of the club on Saturday, it was just a small part of what had happened in 48 hours. The sale of the club has been put on hold, with the New York bank Raine Group enlisted to find a buyer, despite the fact that nobody is certain that the club is for sale.
Cech told Sky Sports that they are focused on the things they can control. The conversations are about if we can finish the season.
There was a lot of confusion before the game. The atmosphere outside the stadium was relatively quiet, with the exception of noisyNewcastle fans who chanted about money running out, their own new-found wealth under Saudi Arabian owners, and songs about Romanovich being a war criminal.
This fixture was billed by one prominent UK sports writer as a game that would turn the stomach due to the fact that one of the clubs was bankrolled by a man who had links to Putin and the other was owned by Saudi Arabia. When Eddie Howe was asked how he could reconcile coaching a club with connections to a regime that executed 81 people on Saturday, he stuck firmly to his guns.
Howe said he would answer questions on the game and football.
When asked about the questions facing the owners of the club, Thomas Tuchel said it was a big one. The situation is similar for the owners. What can I say? I don't want to point the finger at the other people because that wouldn't change our situation.
The reality of the league in 2022. It is football's most glamorous, wealthiest and high-profile league and it attracts all kinds of owners, from stateless countries with questionable human rights records to billionaires who are connected to those starting a war in Europe. The flip-side of relying so heavily on the wealth of one owner who has now had his assets frozen by the UK government is now being discovered by one of the most successful teams in the league.
Two days before Russia invaded Ukraine, the last time a game was played at the Bridge, it was against Lille. The club shop was open, fans could buy a match programme, and the owner of the world and Europe was there. Less than three weeks later, the change has been so dramatic that fans were urged not to sing the name of the owner as they did at Norwich.
A banner with the face of the Russian and the words "The Roman Empire" hung from the Matthew Harding Stand. It's not likely to be there for the next time they play at the Bridge.
Who knows what will happen to Chelsea by then? Several interested parties are attempting to buy the club, which remains an appealing investment opportunity because of its location in one of London's most upscale areas and its global brand, but if the financial problems caused by the Abramovich sanctions prevent the club from paying player wages and other outgoings,
The former Paris Saint-Germain coach is leading the team with honesty and perspective and speaking on behalf of the club, and he is doing that with distinction right now. When he emerged from the tunnel for his post match interviews, over 100 fans who had stayed in the ground gave him a standing ovation.
The team has won two games in a row since the sanctions were imposed on Thursday. He saw Havertz score the winning goal in the 89th minute, after the player had been fortunate to escape a first-half red card for appearing to hit Dan Burn with an elbow.
The second leg of the round of 16 is at Lille on Wednesday. After the game, Tuchel said that the club had been able to get a plane for the trip, since it is one of the assets of the owner.
Nobody knows what the weeks ahead will bring, but things are quite that bad for them.
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