04 March,2022 08:15 AM IST | London | AFP
Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring a winner against Luton Town on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images
Chelsea survived a major FA Cup scare to reach the quarter-finals with a 3-2 win at Luton just hours after Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale on Wednesday. Thomas Tuchel's side took to the Kenilworth Road pitch for the fifth round tie with their heads still spinning from Abramovich's bombshell announcement.
The Russian billionaire has decided to sell Chelsea amid fears he could be sanctioned by the British government amid his country's invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich, who is alleged to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will give the net proceeds from the sale to victims of the Ukraine war, with his asking price starting at a reported £3 billion (USD 4 billion).
Thomas Tuchel
After his massive investment helped Chelsea win 19 major trophies in his 19-year reign, Abramovich admitted it had been "incredibly difficult" to give up the keys to Chelsea. Fittingly, it was Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku who completed Chelsea's escape act on the day the Abramovich era entered its final chapter. Chelsea twice trailed against second-tier Luton before Lukaku bagged the winner in the closing stages to spare their blushes.
Abramovich sanctioned the club record £97 million deal that brought Lukaku from Inter Milan last year in the final blockbuster transfer of his reign. Asked about the sale, Tuchel admitted he hoped not much would change in the day to day running of the club. "We heard the rumours. We are not living on an island. Of course, we have team meetings and the guys spoke about it," he said in his post-match BBC interview.
"It is big news. Let's wait and see, hope for the best. In the very short term, for us as a team, hopefully not too much will change. But the situation is now there, it's a big situation and I can understand, there will be a lot of reports. "We try to cancel the noise and stay focused, which is not always easy. We showed we are able to do it."
It was a much-needed victory for Chelsea after their agonising penalty shoot-out defeat in the League Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday. But it was Abramovich's seismic decision to sell up that hogged the attention at tiny Kenilworth Road.
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