Chelsea’s rearranged Premier League tie against Norwich City on the night of March 10 was overshadowed by the revelations of the day, that the government had decided to sanction Roman Abramovich. The Blues won still and won comfortably.
Rarely has the news in recent weeks around Chelsea been about football; the Blues find themselves dragged in the middle of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis due to their owner Roman Abramovich’s links to the former. Unsurprisingly, then, the news cycle in the build-up to Chelsea’s Premier League game against Norwich City was dominated by Abramovich, the UK government’s decision to freeze his assets, and what it might mean for the future of the club.
Amid the uncertainty, Chelsea took to the field and, within three minutes, led against the relegation-threatened Norwich. Trevoh Chalobah knocked a Mason Mount corner past Tim Krul in the Norwich goal, continuing what has been a fine season for the youngster.
Fourteen minutes in, Mount doubled Chelsea’s lead; the attacker collected a pass from Kai Havertz inside the opposition box and unleashed an unstoppable shot towards the top-right corner – which he followed by kissing the club badge in front of a raucous home crowd.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Thomas Tuchel and his men. The Canaries enjoyed a period of dominance after the interval and were awarded a chance to cut into the deficit when Pierre Lees-Melou’s cross was handled inside the box by the scorer of Chelsea’s first, Chalobah. Teemu Pukki made no mistake from the spot, and the Stamford Bridge faithful buckled in for a nervy ending.
On the contrary, it was as comfortable as it gets for Chelsea. The Blues continued to create plenty even after the concession, and Havertz’s goal in the 90th minute meant that they would cruise to a convincing win despite all the rumblings beyond the four walls of the Bridge.
Chelsea consolidated their hold on the third position, thanks to the win. The Blues are seven behind second-placed Liverpool and eight ahead of fourth-placed Arsenal.
