Norwich City 1-3 Chelsea: Blues strengthen their grip on third spot

Chelsea beat bottom club Norwich as Mason Mount scored one and made another on the day his club's long-term future was thrown into uncertainty.

Travelling fans at Carrow Road chanted the name of Roman Abramovich hours after it was announced Chelsea's Russian owner had been sanctioned by the UK government.

On the pitch, Chelsea's players responded to one of the most dramatic days in the club's 117-year history by storming into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes on their way to a fourth successive league win.

Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring in the third minute after meeting Mason Mount's corner before Kai Havertz set up England's Mount for his eighth goal of the season.

Norwich were much better after half-time and Teemu Pukki gave his side hope from the penalty spot after Chalobah handled, but Havertz sealed the points with a late third for Chelsea.

While the win strengthened Chelsea's grip on third spot, Norwich are five points from safety with just 10 games left.

Business as usual on the pitch

While Chelsea's future off the pitch is precarious right now, it was pretty much business as usual on it.

Captain Cesar Azpilicueta spoke before the game about "this not being a normal day" while Tuchel talked about "a lot of noise" around the club.

Within hours of the announcement that Abramovich had been sanctioned, Chelsea' main shirt sponsors - mobile network provider Three - suspended their deal with the club.

Nevertheless, the Blues wore their usual kit with the sponsors logo as the timing of Three's suspension made it impossible to get a fresh kit with no logo to Norfolk.

There were 'Champions of Europe' banners in the away end although the Abramovich chants were greeted with some boos from the home fans.

Yet any concerns Tuchel might have had about the day's worrying off-field developments seeping onto the pitch were quickly dispelled as Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead.

Chalobah got between Grant Hanley and Christoph Zimmermann to put the visitors ahead before Mount lashed home the second high into the roof of the net.

Andreas Christensen - out of contract at the end of the season and in a state of short-term limbo following today's announcement that Chelsea are unable to offer new deals - went close with a header.

Mateo Kovacic grazed the woodwork from 20 yards and Mount was denied a second goal by Tim Krul before Havertz sealed Chelsea's 10th Premier League away win with a fine 90th minute finish after a lay-off by N'Golo Kante.

More to follow

Player of the match

MountMason Mount

Norwich City

Squad number46Player nameRowe

Squad number17Player nameRashica

Squad number22Player namePukki

Squad number1Player nameKrul

Squad number7Player nameRupp

Squad number2Player nameAarons

Squad number21Player nameWilliams

Squad number5Player nameHanley

Squad number23Player nameMcLean

Squad number24Player nameSargent

Squad number6Player nameZimmermann

Squad number16Player nameNormann

Squad number20Player nameLees-Melou

Squad number15Player nameKabak

Chelsea

Squad number19Player nameMount

Squad number29Player nameHavertz

Squad number7Player nameKanté

Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva

Squad number14Player nameChalobah

Squad number16Player nameMendy

Squad number8Player nameKovacic

Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta

Squad number11Player nameWerner

Squad number4Player nameChristensen

Squad number5Player nameJorginho

Squad number17Player nameSaúl

Squad number9Player nameLukaku

Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek

Line-ups

Norwich

Formation 5-3-2

1Krul

2Aarons6Zimmermann5Hanley15Kabak21Williams

20Lees-Melou16Normann23McLean

24Sargent22Pukki

Substitutes

Chelsea

Formation 3-4-2-1

16Mendy

14Chalobah6Thiago Silva4Christensen

28Azpilicueta5Jorginho8Kovacic17Saúl

19Mount11Werner

29Havertz

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Norwich City 1, Chelsea 3.

Second Half ends, Norwich City 1, Chelsea 3.

Hand ball by Jorginho (Chelsea).

Goal! Norwich City 1, Chelsea 3. Kai Havertz (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by N'Golo Kanté.

Offside, Norwich City. Max Aarons tries a through ball, but Milot Rashica is caught offside.

Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Grant Hanley.

Attempt blocked. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Substitution, Chelsea. Romelu Lukaku replaces Timo Werner.

Substitution, Chelsea. N'Golo Kanté replaces Mateo Kovacic.

Foul by Kai Havertz (Chelsea).

Ozan Kabak (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Substitution, Norwich City. Jonathan Rowe replaces Joshua Sargent.

Attempt missed. Pierre Lees-Melou (Norwich City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.

Offside, Norwich City. Brandon Williams tries a through ball, but Grant Hanley is caught offside.

Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Foul by Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea).

Milot Rashica (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Foul by Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).

Brandon Williams (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Mason Mount (Chelsea).

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