Chelsea’s Kai Havertz inspired a 4-0 thrashing of Premier League strugglers Burnley, while Leeds manager Jesse Marsch suffered a 1-0 defeat against Leicester in his first game on Saturday. This weekend, all Premier League captains wore armbands with Ukrainian flags on them, and teams held a minute of applause in solidarity with the country following Russia’s invasion. The battle has had an indirect impact on Chelsea, with Russian businessman Roman Abramovich putting the club up for sale amid worries of British government sanctions over his alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During Abramovich’s 19-year reign, the club won 19 major titles, including the Champions League and Club World Cup under current manager Thomas Tuchel.
However, in the post-Abramovich era, Chelsea has an unknown future, placing pressure on Tuchel to keep the team on track during the transition to a new owner.
The Champions League is a must for that aim, and third-placed Chelsea kept their hopes alive by beating third-bottom Burnley at Turf Moor.
Reece James put Chelsea ahead in the 47th minute with a powerful finish after Chelsea fans screamed Abramovich’s name during the applause for Ukraine.
Five minutes later, Havertz extended the advantage with a header from Christian Pulisic’s cross.
With a close-range shot from James’ cross, the German forward made it three goals in nine minutes, replacing club-record signing Romelu Lukaku.
Chelsea’s fourth goal came in the 69th minute when Pulisic knocked home a deflected cross from Saul Niguez.
Chelsea surged six points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United with their third consecutive league victory.
After replacing Marcelo Bielsa, Marsch has been hired to save Leeds from relegation.
However, he was unable to immediately improve their fortunes, as Harvey Barnes scored the game-winning goal in the 67th minute.
Barnes scored with a crisp finish from inside the box after Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had made a string of excellent saves.
After Bob Bradley’s brief stint as manager of Swansea City in 2016, Marsch becomes only the second American to lead a Premier League club.
Marsch, who was fired by RB Leipzig in December following a dismal five-month stint, faces a monumental task in changing public preconceptions of American managers while keeping Leeds afloat.
Leeds have lost five of their previous six games and are only two points clear of the drop zone.
“I’m incredibly happy of the guys after four days together and having modified a lot of the strategies,” Marsch remarked.
“We’re still getting to know one another. It doesn’t feel right that we didn’t get what we deserved after playing so brilliantly in such a difficult environment, but that’s a sport. For us, this is a significant first step.”
Brentford won their first game in ten league games thanks to a hat-trick from Ivan Toney, as the Bees moved six points clear of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory over bottom-placed Norwich.
Christian Eriksen assisted Toney’s goal in his first competitive appearance since suffering a heart episode while playing for Denmark at the European Championship last year.
Newcastle extended their unbeaten league run to eight games with a 2-1 win over Brighton at St James’ Park, thanks to goals from Ryan Fraser and Fabian Schar.
Newcastle, who were in serious relegation danger when Eddie Howe came over as manager, are now seven points clear of the bottom three.
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