Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount both alluded to the fact that the focus from the players has been on the pitch despite the "crazy" Chelsea situation amid sanctions on Roman Abramovich..
The duo have been in great form since the Abramovich news hit the mainstream media a couple of weeks ago. Mount played a big role in the Blues' wins over Middlesbrough and Norwich, whilst Pulisic made a big impression in both legs of the Lille Round of 16 Champions League ties. This has culminated in manager Thomas Tuchel sending a warning regarding the form of the aforementioned pair to Real Madrid and Premier League rivals ahead of the run in.
"There's no substitute for it [big-game experience]. It's the best," Tuchel said in an interview with Chelsea's in-house media. "Players can grow so much with these kinds of experiences. There are many ways to grow but this is really accelerating the process of their development.
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"It's good to see they are ready to take responsibility, ready to step up. And it's so good to have them at this kind of age. They are far from having reached their top level. There is so much more to come and we can be proud to have them."
In the seven games since the government made the Abramovich decision, Tuchel's side have won six games, with the only loss coming on penalties in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. How have the players been able to do this and maintain their focus? Mount alluded to the fact in his post-Middlesbrough interview that he and his teammates have responded to the Abramovich news in resilient fashion by letting their football do the talking on the pitch.
He said to the BBC: "It was never going to be a comfortable night, they’ve been on an unbelievable run. "You see the teams they’ve beat recently in the cup so, it was never going to be easy. Coming here with the fans behind them, not many fans here for us tonight but, I felt we let our football do the talking and that was the main goal for us tonight.
"It really shows our mentality. There’s a lot going on around us, but within the group we have so much focus. We try to block everything out around us and focus as much as we can on our football. We keep training every day and working hard and hopefully get as many wins as we can."
Pulisic now faces some crucial matches for the United States national team as they look to seal a place at the 2022 World Cup. And he has issued a similar message to Mount, stating it has been a "crazy" time at the club.
"It's been a crazy situation, to be honest, but we've been able to focus on our game and just worry about playing over there," he said via the Mirror. "I'm just excited in general to come play with the US national team because I love this group of guys and I love this team and it'll be nice to have a break, see something a bit different, and then I'll be ready to go back and finish off the season strong."
