LUTTON, ENGLAND - Fairly enough, Chelsea's money made the difference in the end. Confirmation that Roman Abramovich would sell to the Blues came about an hour before the start of Wednesday's match with Luton Town threatening to show them how far they can fall without the financial clout of their boss.
Twice led the championship side, first through a second-minute header from Reece Burke and then through an equalizer from Saul Niguez as Harry Cornicz ran clear to a quiet finish behind Kepa Arrizabalaga. The game turned in Chelsea's favor in the second half, however, with assists from Christian Pulisic, Harvey Vale and Reece James scoring goals to secure the winner 3–2 in 12 minutes before Timo Werner became the provider for Romelu Lukaku. did. victory.
Werner and Lukaku, costing more than £150m combined in transfer fees, were later signed last summer in a club-record deal that would now rank as the final act under Abramovich in grand spending, The total since its purchase has exceeded £2 billion. West London dress in 2003.
Chelsea's wealth has made them largely impervious to FA Cup shocks. During Abramovich's 19-year tenure, they have only lost to lower-league opposition in this competition: a 4–2 loss to League One Bradford City in 2015 and a reverse in 2008 to championship side Barnsley.
Against a backdrop of uncertainty over their future ownership, Chelsea has rarely felt insecure like this, and most of the 10,140 fans inside Kenilworth Road were not letting them forget it. "You're sold out in the morning," chanted to a distant end by Luton's gleeful fans, who raised a banner declaring that section of the field the "Champions of the World section" in recognition of last month's Club World Cup victory. Had given.
Abramovich's ownership focused on the bleakness of sport and politics.
Although he has repeatedly denied any links with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the timing of his decision to sell comes more hurriedly amid widespread condemnation of the Kremlin and anyone associated with his invasion of Ukraine as . The flags at all four corners were changed to the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, while large versions lay around the crowd and every chant of "Roman Abramovich" was greeted with boos or worse with fierce support.
"You dirty Russian bastard," Luton fans sang. "We've won it all," replied Chelsea's end. "You've bought it all," came the retort.
The good news for coach Thomas Tuchel is that it will historically be the kind of underwhelming performance that will raise questions about a head coach's long-term future, given Abramovich's readiness to get away with managers in the past. Instead, he was faced with another postmatch inquiry focused on his employer's future.
"It's too early for me to speak," Tuchel said. "It's big news but I can only think of Chelsea with Roman Abramovich. It's very hard for me, it hasn't sunk in yet; it's a big change.
“We focused only on the game in our preparation but some players might be affected more than others and in the end we managed to focus more and grow in the game before finding the key to winning it.
"I don't think I need to talk to the players about it. I'm not the CEO. I'm not a member of the board and I'm pretty sure the club will talk to us and the players. I'm pretty sure the board Some of the members will talk to us to clarify the situation."
Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek started in an experimental position at centre-back in anticipation of dominating the ball, but what the team gained in intelligence in their possession was lost without it in defensive fixtures. Loftus-Cheek showed the benefits of playing that role, however, playing a brilliant raking pass to equalize Werner, helping to turn the tide.
Luton himself had made several changes as he has an eye on the promotion push from the championship – he is sixth – and has been reported as Chelsea's greater resourcefulness and fitness, with Lukaku sparing his blush. He was signed at great expense to settle more important occasions, but right now passionate Chelsea fans want Abramovich's money to be raised anyhow.