Tuchel mood soured by possible lack of Chelsea fans in Europe

Thomas Tuchel had to fight to protect his buoyant mood after seeing Chelsea reach the Champions League quarter-finals when told of potential future fan absences facing the Blues.

Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta netted to send the defending champions into the Champions League last eight with a 4-1 aggregate win over Lille.

Burak Yilmaz fired a penalty for Lille at a raucous Stade Pierre Mauroy but Chelsea hit back to power through after a 2-1 victory on the night in France.

Roman Abramovich's UK and now EU sanctions amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine continue to bite hard for the Blues, who cannot sell any new tickets to supporters.

Now UEFA expect Chelsea will not be able to have any fans at future Champions League matches while Abramovich is the club's owner.

Chelsea's sale continues to move apace, and the Stamford Bridge club could even have a new owner by the Champions League's April quarter-finals.

A new face in the owner's seat would alleviate the threat of behind-closed-doors matches, but Tuchel was in no mood to speculate after Chelsea's win in France.

When asked about the prospect of playing without fans, Tuchel replied: "Thanks for ruining my evening!

"I was in such a good mood, can we speak about it when it's confirmed? Let's wait for the confirmation of the confirmation.

"Let's see, today I'm happy that we are in the last eight.

"There were a lot of things to overcome, so I'm so happy and so proud.

"So let's see. It's the first thing I hear now.

"In three days we play Middlesbrough in the cup, then we have the national break, and then I'll think about a good answer.

"The fans are outside right now and it was brilliant to be with them."

Tuchel appeared as emotional and proud as he has been in his time as Chelsea boss,