blues cruise Thomas Tuchel's plea after Chelsea seal FA Cup semi-final spot by beating Middlesbrough

Chelsea stormed into the FA Cup semi-finals as they continued to ignore the crisis around the club by beating Middlesbrough 2-0, with the message from their manager Thomas Tuchel loud and clear after the game.

After progress in the Champions League on Wednesday night, Thomas Tuchel’s impressive side kept their FA Cup push on course in this game with first half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech sealing the win.

Yet Tuchel was clear when asked what he wanted to see next, as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich aims to sell the club after he was sanctioned due to his links with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"We want this sale to go through as quickly as possible," declared Tuchel, who has spoken so impressively after being plunged into a challenging position in recent weeks.

"It would be good to find our what happens next and then we can see what the future holds for the club.

"I'm impressed with the players' focus. We accepted the (ownership) situation because we didn't cause it. It isn't in our hands, but it was important we showed the right spirit and took responsibility.

"This is very, very good. If you have the talent, it is a responsibility to show it.

"Again in this game, we showed our quality. We were very focused and very serious from the beginning. We showed quality in decisive moments and scored two early goals which gave us a comfortable lead, but the effort was huge to not allow big chances. I'm very happy, it was a very deserved win.

"We were totally aware of Middlesbrough's strengths, of their structure. They push the wing-back on the right side up so he's almost a winger, so we adapted to that and decided to play a 4-1 (at the back, with a deep-lying midfielder) and not our usual 3-2 shape.

"We had Malang Sarr at left-back to have a close connection with their right wing-back and played with the other defenders in a three against two with their two strikers.

"That was impressive, for the guys to show the discipline and fulfil the plan. They were reliable and, within the plan, they showed the individual quality and determination that is needed."

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount was also keen for the club to find a new owner and start a fresh era.

"We didn't have many fans here tonight but I felt that we let our football do the talking. We played some good stuff, and that was the main goal for us," said the England midfielder.

"We really have that winning mentality within the group. Any competition, any game, we want to win, and we want to keep that going. It's been a tough couple of weeks but for us, as a team, we're just focused and ready to play.

"We're so hungry for a domestic title, we just need to keep going. It's not been the best of runs for us at Wembley but we want to right that wrong. We've already had one final at Wembley this season and lost it so we're hungry to win."

Prospective owners of Chelsea were given a deadline of last Friday to submit their bids and a preferred option is likely to be confirmed in the coming days.

The sale would then be rushed through to rid Chelsea of Abramovich's presence, with Tuchel and the players he put in place at the club doing a fine job of thriving in a unique sporting crisis.