Thomas Tuchel was grateful to have a match to focus on after Chelsea were plunged into uncertainty on Thursday with the freezing of club owner Roman Abramovich's assets.
Chelsea were in Norfolk to face Norwich City, emerging with a 3-1 win thanks to a professional display led by Mason Mount and Kai Havertz.
But earlier in the day it was confirmed by the British government that Abramovich was among the latest high-profile Russian individuals and entities to be hit with sanctions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich, who has been photographed with Russian president Vladimir Putin in the past, was in the process of attempting to sell Chelsea, and the sanctions have put the sale in doubt despite the oligarch claiming the proceeds would have been donated to victims of the war.
While Chelsea have been granted a special sporting licence to continue operating as a football club, measures were placed upon them including a ban on selling merchandise and tickets to non-season-ticket holders.
It cast a shroud over Chelsea heading into Thursday's game, but Tuchel feels the fact they were already preparing for a match helped the squad keep their focus away from off-field matters.
Tuchel told BeIN Sports: "It's big news, huge impact of course, that's why it's big news. It is the subject of all the talk [in the squad].
"Normally we'd talk maybe about the Champions League games from yesterday but nobody talked about that, just the impacts of the new facts around the club.
"In the end it's also nice to enter a fixed schedule approaching a match. So, there's three-hours before [the game] we eat, and then we have a tactical meeting, then a set-piece meeting, then we go to the stadium.
"So, it helps you to focus because we're used to it. In the end we cannot influence it, we did not cause the situation, so we allowed ourselves to enjoy the fact we're here and are privileged to play football in the Premier League, and we wanted to show the best things.
"Sometimes it's good to sweat it out, so we tried to work hard, tried to convince the team to work really hard together and that's sometimes the best thing to get the focus back."
Certain sections of the Chelsea support have criticised the media for asking Tuchel about off-field matters since Abramovich announced he had put the club up for sale.
There have been suggestions Tuchel should only be asked questions relating specifically to the football his team play, but the German appeared relaxed about having to answer about off-field topics.
"I would love to talk about sports but I understand [the media] have a lot of questions," he continued.
"Unfortunately, I don't know much more than you, maybe it's the opposite, but we're also an entertainment and that's why it's like this."
Tuchel bemoans lack of focus as Bayern slump to final-day defeat
Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with his team's lack of focus following their 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Bayern threw away a two-goal lead, condemning them to a third-place finish behind unbeaten Bayern Leverkusen and Stuttgart
After failing to win the Bundesliga title for a 12th consecutive season, Tuchel's side will also go without domestic or European silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
"We started really well, but then we had a string of individual mistakes," Tuchel said in a short press conference.
The coach is leaving Bayern after just over a year in charge after the club announced his departure in February. There had been talks to potentially reverse that decision last week, but no agreement was reached.
"In the second half we played well for 15 minutes, but then it was again a series of individual mistakes and loss of possession," Tuchel said. "We gave away a two-goal lead for a completely unnecessary and bitter defeat."
Despite a string of injury absences, Bayern were 2-0 up by the sixth minute but Hoffenheim scored four times, including an Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in the second half to turn the game around.
"It happens far too often, like that. It happened in Stuttgart where we conceded two late goals [for a 3-1 defeat]. In Heidenheim, the same [for a 3-2 loss]. Here the same. It just happens too often," Tuchel added.
"I have an explanation for that, but it is not for the public."
Bayern's Aleksandar Pavlovic, who is part of Germany's preliminary Euro 2024 squad, went off injured early in the match and will undergo further tests.
"He twisted his ankle. We will have to wait and see what the checks show," Tuchel said.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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