Brendan Rodgers shared his verdict on the current sanctions that have been imposed on Chelsea
In his pre-match conference for the game against Arsenal, as quoted by Leicestershire Live, Brendan Rodgers admitted that he feels for the coach and players of Chelsea amidst the current chaos.
Rodgers was part of Chelsea’s academy staff from 2004- 2008. After that, the Northern Irish manager went into senior management and has since been in charge of Swansea, Liverpool, Celtic, and Leicester City. Rodgers has had his fair share of ups and downs but has largely managed to create an attacking a beautiful brand of football at all the clubs he has managed.
The Foxes take on the Gunners today. Arsenal are currently eight points behind us but have two games in hand and could slowly be making a claim for the top-four position. Rodgers’ men could do us a big favour by beating them to give us a bit more breathing room in the matches to come.
The UK Government decided to crack down on Roman Abramovich who is believed to have ‘pro-Kremlin’ relations to retaliate against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The club has thus been mired in a lot of uncertainty with sanctions being imposed on the Russian oligarch.
In his pre-match presser (h/t Leicestershire Live), Rodgers gave his opinion on the current sanctions being faced by Chelsea. He also highlighted that it could be hard to focus on football in view of recent developments.
“I’ve got a lot of friends at Chelsea, good people, and been there for a long time. It’s obviously a difficult situation that they’re having to manage and, of course, you feel for Thomas, the manager, and the players, because it’s out of their control; their focus is on the football. But it’s something that is in place and something that they’re having to manage at the moment.”
Will there be some respite for Chelsea?
The club has only started to cement its place amongst the elites in England and Europe in the last few years. The Blues managed to get their hands on the illustrious FIFA Club World Cup for the first time in our history in February and narrowly lost out to Liverpool in the EFL Cup final.
With the business end of the season fast approaching, the Blues would be looking to maintain the morale of the players and the staff. That being said, Brendan rightly pointed out that it could be hard to focus on football in light of the recent events.
The West Londoners have to a great degree managed to put the off-field chatter behind them, not letting it affect their on-field performances. The Stamford Bridge outfit has recorded impressive wins against Burnley and Norwich City in their last two Premier League outings and would be looking to add another three points in their kitty against Newcastle United today.
The Blues then head to France to take on LOSC Lille in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie. The club still has a lot to play for this season and a favourable result in their upcoming matches could give them some much-needed momentum.
More Chelsea News
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- Transfer News: Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku willing to take a pay cut to return to Inter Milan
- Paul Merson: Chelsea could sell Timo Werner in summer following UK Government’s decision to sanction Roman Abramovich
The Chelsea faithful would also be hoping that the club can get their hands on some more silverware before the end of the season. Hopefully, things go forward with the sale of the club quickly to protect the interest of the Blues. We have already played Leicester once this season, recording a 3-0 league win.
Let us hope that by the time we take the pitch against Rodgers’ men, things look a bit rosier than it does right now for Chelsea.