MY ACCOUNT
Thomas Tuchel hailed the Chelsea players’ response to the current takeover speculation after his side secured their FA Cup semi-final spot with a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Boro knocked out Premier League sides Manchester United and Tottenham to reach the last eight, but Chelsea dominated throughout at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku poked home after 15 minutes and Hakim Ziyech doubled the visitors’ lead shortly after as the Blues progressed from quarter-finals for the 16th time in their previous 20 last-eight ties.
It was Chelsea’s fifth straight win across all competitions since owner Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom government and the European Union (EU) in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, announced his intentions to sell the club on March 2.
Chelsea also coasted to victory with no away fans in attendance due to the sanctions imposed on Abramovich, and Tuchel was delighted.
“We were very focused and very serious from the beginning,” Tuchel told BBC Sport.
“We showed quality in decisive moments and scored two early goals which gave us a comfortable lead, but the effort was huge to not allow big chances. I’m very happy, it was a very deserved win.
“I’m impressed with the players’ focus. We accepted the [ownership] situation because we didn’t cause it. It isn’t in our hands, but it was important we showed the right spirit and took responsibility.
“This is very, very good. If you have the talent, it is a responsibility to show it.”
Mason Mount, whose two assists took him to 50 direct goal involvements for Chelsea across all competitions, also echoed Tuchel’s comments.
“Middlesbrough have been on an unbelievable run, you’ve seen the teams they’ve beat recently in the cup, so it was never going to be a comfortable night,” he said.
“We didn’t have many fans here tonight but I felt that we let our football do the talking. We played some good stuff, and that was the main goal for us tonight.
“We really have that winning mentality within the group. Any competition, any game, we want to win, and we want to keep that going. It’s been a tough couple of weeks but for us, as a team, we’re just focused and ready to play.
“We’re so hungry for a domestic title, we just need to keep going. It’s not been the best of runs for us at Wembley but we want to right that wrong.
“We’ve already had one final at Wembley this season and lost it so we’re hungry to win [the semi-final].”
