Regardless of the opponent, no matter the competition, the Chelsea players have managed to keep their focus on the field during a difficult period for the club.
It has now been six straight victories since Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich announced he would sell the London club, with Chelsea in second place Middlesbrough in a 2-0 victory to reach the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech scored the first half goals, which were celebrated by a smaller than usual bag of visiting fans at Riverside Stadium. In light of the economic sanctions on Abramovich by the British government for his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine, Chelsea could only take around 700 supporters for the match in the Northeast.
The difference in support made no difference, with Middlesbrough’s ambitions to pursue victories over Premier League teams Manchester United and Tottenham in the previous rounds quickly diminished.
And so ended another turbulent week for Chelsea, who progressed to the Champions League on Wednesday – setting up a quarter-final meeting with Real Madrid – before a deadline expired Friday to buy offers for the club from Abramovich and its 19-year-old owner to conclude.
With doubts about their future, Chelsea players show remarkable professionalism and application.
No small skill, either, with both goals being the length of field moves that started with Chelsea ball-playing defenders beating Middlesbrough high pressure.
The first came to an end with Ziyech de Mason Mount releasing his low cross from the right by Lukaku in the 15th minute.
Ziyech made it 2-0 in the 31st through the right, assisted by Cesar Azpilicueta’s Decoy run, which took away a defender, and drilled a low, angled shot into the far corner from outside the area.
The remaining quarter-final matches are on Sunday, with two All-Premier League competitions: Southampton vs Manchester City and Crystal Palace vs Everton. Finishing the last eight, four-time chasing Liverpool visit second-placed Nottingham Forest, who have already eliminated Arsenal and Leicester defenders.
PREMIER LEAGUE
It looks more and more likely that Arsenal will be in the Champions League again next season.
A 1-0 win at Aston Villa saw Arsenal take four points from Manchester United in fifth place in the race to reach the Premier League top four. Arsenal also have a game in hand.
Bukayo Saka scored the winner of the 30th minute – for his ninth league goal this season – by hitting a ball that was weakly cleared by Villa’s defense and a low first shot past the invisible goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. hit the edge of the region. .
Arsenal were in control for most of lunch at Villa Park, despite the brief reversal of their loss to Liverpool on Wednesday night – a game plan that annoyed manager Mikel Arteta.
“I think the team today showed a lot of personality to come and play like we did,” said Arteta. “We dominated the game.”
This season is the first in a quarter of a century that Arsenal have not been involved in European competition.
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