Champions League last-16 ties to take place at home stadiums
Written by News on 10/07/2020
Manchester City will face Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium for their Champions League last-16 second-leg tie in August, after UEFA announced the matches will be played at home teams’ stadiums.
UEFA has also given the green light for Chelsea’s second-leg with Bayern Munich to take place at the German champions’ Allianz Arena, with Chelsea trailing following a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in February.
European football’s governing body were considering moving the remaining last-16 Champions League matches to Portugal, where there will be a 12-day tournament starting with the quarter-finals on August 12.
UEFA said the decision to play last-16 matches at home stadia applies where clubs are “currently playing the remaining matches of their domestic leagues in their own stadiums and that travelling is possible without restrictions for the visiting clubs”. Barcelona and Juventus will also be allowed to host the second leg of their last-16 matches.
UEFA confirmed on Thursday it had clearance from public authorities in Spain, Germany, Italy and England to let the teams play at home on August 7 and 8.
The UEFA Executive Committee also announced that all remaining last-16 matches will take place at the home grounds in the Europa League.
It means Manchester United and Wolves will both play their second legs at home against LASK and Olympiakos respectively on August 5 or 6.
United hold a 5-0 first-leg lead, while Wolves have an advantage of an away goal following their 1-1 draw in Greece in March.
Rangers will go to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen in their second leg with a 3-1 deficit.
Champions League and Europa League mini-tournaments
Starting on August 12, the Champions League quarter-finals will be played on four straight nights in single-leg knockout games at the home stadiums of Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.
The semi-finals are on August 18 and 19, and Benfica’s Stadium of Light hosts the final on August 23.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals pairings will be drawn on Friday at UEFA headquarters.
Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain have already advanced to the last eight.
The final was postponed from May 30 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. It will host the 2021 final instead.
The Europa League’s last-16 second legs will take place on August 5 and 6, with Inter Milan vs Getafe and Sevilla vs Roma being reduced to a single knockout game as their first legs were also postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for August 10 and 11 in Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen. The semi-finals are on August 16 and 17.
The final is Friday, August 21 in Cologne, replacing the postponed May 27 final in Gdansk, Poland.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: Champions League last-16 ties to take place at home stadiums
