As Kai Havertz showed himself yet again to be the man for the big occasion, Thomas Tuchel let rip.
After an emotionally draining week, the Chelsea boss wheeled down the touchline, both fists clenched - facing fans in the east stand - and let out a guttural scream.
He then threw both his arms up into the air repeatedly, calling on the Stamford Bridge faithful for their support.
The European Champions remain knee-deep in a nightmare - but this was a welcome glimmer of hope.
Football is obviously an irrelevance with Ukraine being bombed into oblivion by Vladimir Putin.
But in this corner of London, with Chelsea facing ruin, the players, staff and supporters found strength in adversity.
The home fans could yet find themselves back under the microscope.
Fed up of all the triumphalism from the travelling Newcastle fans, gloating that their Saudi cash had bought them a team unbeaten in 2022, fans in the Matthew Harding stand hit back with chants of “Roman Abramovich”.
Not all of them. And it didn’t last that long. Just enough to catch the eye - and the ear - around the hour mark.
They’d previously been, relatively speaking, on their best behaviour.
Perhaps they’d seen the Sunday papers detailing the horror of Volnovakha, eastern Ukraine, wiped out by Vladimir Putin.
Or the TV reports over the previous few days depicting the mass graves, the frozen bodies of soldiers left for the dogs and the 10,000 children orphaned by the fighting.
Maybe Chelsea’s fans had finally come to understand why they couldn’t continue to cling to the fact that they’d won it all under Abramovich, the man yet to distance himself from Vladimir Putin to the government’s satisfaction.
Because until their lapse - there were muted bursts after the final whistle too - they’d opted for their more traditional anthem of “Carefree” mixed with support for Tuchel.
With Abramovich gone and the government metaphorically changing the locks, the Bridge was no longer mired in defiance. The advertising hoardings bore a #standwithUkraine message. The atmosphere remained muted. Legendary keeper Petr Cech, now Technical and Performance Advisor, fronted up for Sky Sports pitchside.
For the most part the lack of self-awareness came from the traveling Newcastle fans unable to resist a touch of schadenfreude.
“We’re richer than you” they sang repeatedly, before pivoting to “Mike Ashley’s coming for you” - a nod to their former owner potentially inflicting his lack of ambition on the Blues.
Clearly the Toon Army hadn’t seen in the news that Saudi Arabia had executed 81 men in a single day on Saturday - more than in the whole of last year.
Clearly they seem to have convinced themselves - wrongly - that the spotlight won’t eventually turn on their club now that we have reached a watershed moment over English football ownership.
Yes, there was a Ukraine flag in the away end - but the Magpies fans also brandished a Saudi flag.
The home fans fired back with their own warning for the Magpies, singing: “Boris Johnson, he’s coming for you!”
Because amid all the dark humour, the reality was that this game - described by some as the 'Despot Derby' - was never really about the football.
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It was about accountability and the need for it. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe would not accept that afterwards, maintaining that he would not answer questions about the ownership of the club. But that won’t fly for too much longer with English football unable to keep its head in the sand.
This game was also about commitment: from the Bridge staff whose jobs hang in the balance; from the subdued home fans who will be here long after Abramovich has forgotten about the vehicle for his popularity.
And from the players who gave their all.
Tuchel was applauded out of the tunnel and along the touchline by the fans who stayed after the final whistle to watch his press conference.
They may be battered by sanctions and uncertainty.
They may be staring down the barrel with Abramovich persona non grata and the financial tap turned off.
And those fans who have only ever known footballing caviar under the Russian may be bracing themselves for the equivalent of packed lunches.
But if even if the cash they need to stay competitive doesn’t arrive, Chelsea will go down fighting.
