Chelsea remain in the midst of a weird, unprecedented transition. Questions remain abound: Will Chelsea find a suitable new owner? Will Thomas Tuchel stay at the club? Can they afford to keep their players? What happens to any attempts to strengthen the club in the summer transfer window?
The consistent pounding of information signalling that the club are in a deep pool of trouble is ironically quite draining. Especially considering the honours on the pitch Chelsea still have to fight for this season. A late title-race push looks unlikely but the FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough, albeit against an awkward backdrop, and tonight's Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Lille offer hope of there being a happy ending to this season.
In hyperbolic terms, It’s currently us against the world. We have to do the talking on the pitch to help find an escape in our performances. While the EU made their stance on Roman Abramovich clear on the eve of the game, they have equally outlined that their fight is with him - and importantly not with Chelsea.
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It feels like a lifetime ago that Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic helped the Blues sail past the French champions in the opening leg of the tie and it's safe to say plenty has happened since at Stamford Bridge. Each Chelsea game has been met with more scrutiny and more questions over what the future holds and the hope will be tonight that amid an ongoing battle to win the race for a takeover, Chelsea can keep doing their talking on the pitch.
There’s only one mission for the Blues as they travel to Lille and that is to win through to the next round. We have been reassured that UEFA will not stop us from competing in Europe, which wasn’t actually a worry until recently. But just yesterday on the eve of the game, the European Union issued confirmation of further sanctions against Abramovich. Though it was destined to happen, the timing has not helped Chelsea, nor Thomas Tuchel's cause in a difficult enough environment the day before Chelsea travel to compete in a European competition.
Every single piece of news regarding Abramovich has arrived within 24 hours prior to a Chelsea game. Chelsea confirmed his intent to sell the club just hours before their FA Cup clash away to Luton. His sanction from the UK government was subsequently announced just before traveling to Norwich and now the European Union has opted to announce its sanctions on the day the squad travelled to France in what has felt like another block on Chelsea's attempts to move on from the situation that has hung over them in recent weeks. The seriousness of events in Ukraine are not lost on anyone among the Chelsea fanbase, nor in the club's first-team group and yet further hurdles continue to present themselves.
It’s been difficult to find a means of positivity as the news comes thick and fast right before matches but the players have done a magnificent job to put their emotions aside and concentrate on channelling them in the best way by working that into their game. A win is the only way to boost morale within the Chelsea camp. In some respects, they have battled adversity in the Champions League before and won through. Chelsea fans' absence, save for season ticket holders for home legs, for the remainder of their European campaign will sting but they proved during last season's run-in empty stadiums that they are capable of beating anyone when the chips are down.
There is so much at stake for every single match that they go in to now though as a result. The pressure must be mounting up. How long will it take until they are unable to sustain it? Considering there will be no supporters to help them through this hardship, Tuchel and his players will have to lean into the spirit of last season's run if they are to try and emulate their own feat. They are currently keeping the blue flag flying high for fans. It’s no longer the other way around.
