Chelsea win offers relief in uncertain times

LONDON : Coach Thomas Tuchel’s frenzied goal celebration sprint down the touchline after Kai Havertz’s 89th-minute winner on Sunday perfectly demonstrated the pressure Chelsea have been under this week.

His team and the London club have been living with uncertainty about their future since the UK government imposed sanctions on Russian owner Roman Abramovich last Thursday and froze his assets.

Against a resurgent Newcastle United, bought last October by a Saudi-led consortium, Chelsea often looked uncertain, lacking their normally fluid game, giving the ball away and failing to make the telling final pass.

But when Jorginho sent a ball over the top and Germany’s Havertz controlled it with his left foot before shooting with his right to snatch a 1-0 victory, the relief at Stamford Bridge was palpable and the celebrations exuberant.

“At halftime we spoke about staying positive, staying calm and trying to play our football,” Havertz said.

"It's tough, we players are privileged to train and continue to do what we love. We feel sorry for everyone. The supporters, the workers, not just us professionals... We try to give everything for them in the moment. We have to stand together, we try to do this and give them a good feeling."

Chelsea, European champions and lying third in the Premier League, have been given a special licence to continue to operate but with severe restrictions.

Tuchel said in many ways life had changed less for him and the players, who were training and playing as usual, than for the other staff at the club, who were understandably worried about their jobs, and it was important to keep morale high and work hard for these colleagues.

"We have some circumstances we cannot influence in some ways it’s not so nice...