Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel praised his players for remaining focused amid the uncertainty about the club’s future after they progressed Wednesday to the Champions League quarter-finals, where he said they would be “the team nobody wants to play”.
The reigning European champions came from behind to beat Lille 2-1 in northern France and win their last-16 tie 4-1 on aggregate with Christian Pulisic and captain Cesar Azpilicueta scoring their goals.
The victory came on the same day it emerged that the Ricketts family, owners of Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, were leading a consortium looking to buy the club while British athletics great Sebastian Coe announced his involvement in a rival takeover bid.