For-sale Chelsea sail into FA Cup semi-finals

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said on Saturday he hoped the process to find a new owner for the Premier League club would be completed “as soon as possible”.

Speaking after his side reached the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win at second-tier Middlesbrough, Tuchel was asked about the off-field turmoil in the wake of Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s decision to put the club up for sale.

“I hope that the process will go through as soon as possible to clear the situation and to calm the situation down and give everybody an outlook to the nearer future,” he said.

“So that we know with whom we are dealing and what the situation is we are dealing with. This is what we are hoping for. We hope things will be pushed as fast as possible and we can see ourselves in a calmer situation.”

First-half goals by Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech knocked the stuffing out of second-tier Middlesbrough who had eliminated Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in previous rounds.

Lukaku tapped in Mason Mount’s low cross after 15 minutes before Ziyech fired home 16 minutes later.

Middlesbrough were given raucous support inside the Riverside Stadium but never really looked capable of troubling the visitors who were always in control.

Abramovich announced he was putting the London club up for sale after 19 trophy-laden years on March 2 in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Chelsea, the object of several buyout bids, are operating under a special licence from the British government after Abramovich had his assets frozen. (Reuters)