Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Tuchel has been cool, calm and classy while the battle for Stamford Bridge rages on
AS seems to be the case of late, Chelsea headed into their latest fixture knowing that they had more than just their opposition to contend with.
The cloud of uncertainty that looms over Stamford Bridge is at least starting to dissipate thanks to a deadline for bids for the club having now passed.
But it continues to dominate the narrative around each game.
And never was that clearer than here, where just over 500 fans were able to occupy the away end after ticket sales were suspended early as a result of the sanctions placed on current owner Roman Abramovich.
That provided the context to a pre-match row that saw Chelsea lodge and then quickly
withdraw a request for the game to be behind closed doors.
Their misguided plea for “sporting integrity” to be preserved was, justifiably, scorned by Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson.
But by full-time, even Boro’s much-loved custodian would have no doubt acknowledged that the class of at least one element of this current Chelsea setup cannot be questioned.
That is, of course, manager
Thomas Tuchel, who continues to show his quality on a weekly basis in difficult, unprecedented circumstances.
It would have been so easy for Tuchel to allow the sanctions on Abramovich to distract his squad and subsequently affect results.
But he has now overseen four straight wins since that news broke to keep Chelsea on track in three different competitions.
A run on Premier League glory looks unlikely, but the Blues remain in contention for the Champions League and, thanks to victory here, the FA Cup.
And that is largely down to a manager whose fingerprints were all over a win that saw the visitors quickly silence a raucous home crowd with a trademark form of controlled and clinical football.
That identity has persevered despite a recent shift to a back four that was once again on display and has brought about no discernible drop-off in solidity.
It certainly hasn’t harmed the attack, either, as Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech proved in putting the cap on fluid moves to clinch progression to the semi-finals.
With so much to admire about this team, it is little wonder that the manager is adored by a group of supporters that unfurled a ‘Tuchel for PM’ banner in a reduced away end.
That sentiment may simply be a nod to the fact that the German would likely be more sympathetic to Chelsea’s aims in their ongoing sale process than the government who are leading it.
But it also underlined a fondness that, in these uncertain times, is also the basis of genuine fears that the conditions for his departure may be about to materialise.
We do not yet know which of the many consortiums taking part in the battle to control the west London club’s future is likely to be successful. Yet what
seems obvious is any new owners are unlikely to run Chelsea in the manner that has allowed £1.5billion of debt to Abramovich to accumulate over the last 20 years.
That is likely to force a reconsideration of the wages and transfer fees that Chelsea are able to pay as well as an adjustment of supporters’ expectations of what each season might hold.
And in such circumstances, it would be easy to see why the uber-competitive Tuchel might believe his best chances of silverware lay elsewhere.
For now, however, the 48-year-old remains committed to navigating Chelsea through the choppy waters of their transition to a post-Abramovich world.