This may be the crumbling of the Roman Empire, but someone forgot to tell Thomas Tuchel.
Amid the chaos, trauma and uncertainty that is Chelsea Football Club right now, the German kept the show on the road – at Carrow Road.
A 3-1 win against Norwich tightened their grip on third-place at a time when almost everything else seems to be out of their hands.
Let there be no mistake – this is the end of the Roman Abramovich era. Hit by sanctions, the European champions he built have been forced to pull up the shutters on the club shop and have no guarantees they can continue to operate beyond this season’s Champions League final, should the defence of their crown get that far.
But Tuchel is the man holding it together in the eye of the storm, emerging as the figurehead of a club that is in desperate need of leadership.
In the absence of Abramovich, Marina Granovskaia or Bruce Buck, it has been down to a man who has been in the job for little over a year to offer guidance to supporters wracked with anxiety.
As Tuchel saluted the travelling fans after last night’s win, it felt like acknowledgement that he is the rock they are clinging to as they search for comfort in these most troubling of times.
His efforts are evident on the pitch.
The toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow classic with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final. The 4-0 win at Burnley. And this latest victory against the backdrop of existential questions about the club’s very future, which blended first-half swagger with sheer bloody-mindedness and character after the break to halt a Norwich fightback to edge closer to Champions League qualification.
That seat at the top table of European football could be more important than ever as Chelsea face up to the financial implications of sanctions that forbid them from selling tickets, merchandise and players – as well as a freeze on broadcast rights.
Likewise, absolutely every point counts if the worst comes to the worst and they are forced into administration.
While there is no suggestion of that right now, it feels like nothing is off the table after Abramovich’s assets were frozen and the club he transformed into a super power were only granted permission to continue operating by virtue of a special Government licence until May 31.
At a time like this, Chelsea are lucky to have Tuchel – and their rivals around Europe will know as much.
Among the former Paris Saint-Germain coach’s admirers are Manchester United, who just happen to be on the lookout for new manager and are being advised on that pursuit by Tuchel’s former mentor Ralf Rangnick.
On Wednesday, Tuchel insisted he would reject all offers to leave Stamford Bridge.
That feels like a long time ago already and no one would blame if he determined this was not what he signed up for.
That would be a profound loss to Chelsea, who can take comfort from the fact that he is showing little indication of jumping ship.
Last night he even found time to see the funny side of the club’s plight, saying: “As long as we have enough shirts and a bus to drive to the games we will be there and will compete hard.”
Chelsea’s fans also embraced gallows humour in response to taunts from the home crowd, who goaded them with chants of “Dirty Russian money” and “Where’s your money gone?”.
In response they sang “Chelsea get sanctioned everywhere we go!” along with the more dubious ode of “Roman Abramovich”.
It is a measure of the uncertainty surrounding the club that some fans even forwarded the idea that sanctions could actually be a positive.
Should the terms of the current licence be renewed in the summer, it would mean chances would have to be given to youth prospects Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja and Billy Gilmour, a forced cultural reset much like the last transfer embargo under Frank Lampard when Mason Mount and Reece James flourished.
But it ignores the fact that Toni Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta would leave without being replaced.
Tuchel has designs on a title challenge next season. Losing two of his first choice back-three without the possibility of filling that void, does not fit into those plans.
But even he admits it is pointless to plan ahead with the club in such flux that the story changes wildly from one day to next.
He can only focus on the here and now and what he can control on the pitch.
Regardless of any potential buyout. At this moment in time, it is hard to imagine Chelsea being in safer hands.
