Chelsea snatched a dramatic winner against Newcastle in the first game at Stamford Bridge since Blues’ Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government.
The game looked to be heading towards a goalless draw before Kai Havertz expertly controlled a ball forward and fired into the net in the 88th minute.
It was a tough goal to concede for Newcastle who had wanted Havertz to be sent off in the first half for catching Dan Burn in the face with an elbow when jumping, but the German only received a booking.
Before the goal, both sides had struggled to create clear-cut chances, with Chelsea taking 75 minutes to produce an effort on target.
Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron had earlier forced a fine save from home goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with a well-struck 25-yard volley and Burn headed just wide.
Just as had happened in Chelsea’s 3-1 away win over Norwich on Thursday, a small section of fans chanted Abramovich’s name, for a brief period in the second half.
Abramovich has been sanctioned as a part of the government’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning his assets, including Chelsea Football Club, have been frozen.
Chelsea stay third, but are now only seven points behind second-placed Liverpool and 10 adrift of leaders Manchester City. Meanwhile, Newcastle, beaten for the first time in nine Premier League matches, drop to 14th, but are 10 points clear of the relegation zone
The relief and delight shown from Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, both at the goal and again at the final whistle, showed what this meant to him by screaming at the fans and punching the air.
And it was easy to see why he was so emotional with the club’s very existence potentially under threat.
Abramovich has been the Chelsea owner for nearly 19 years, a period in which they have won 21 trophies, including the Premier League on five occasions and the Champions League twice.
But the current sanctions against him have stopped him selling Chelsea, and mean the club are unable to buy or sell players, cannot sell any more tickets for games, have had their bank accounts suspended and have had to close the club shop.
The government said it would issue a special licence that allowed fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches, although the club’s wage bill stands at £28m a month.
-BBC
