Lisbon to host Champions League tournament with Final on Aug. 23
As expected, UEFA confirmed on Wednesday that the 2019-20 Champions League competition suspended in March because of the coronavirus pandemic will finish in Lisbon, Portugal in August under unique circumstances.
ESPN's Mark Ogden and Goal.com noted that the remaining round-of-16 fixtures -- Manchester City vs. Real Madrid, Juventus vs. Lyon, Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea, and Barcelona vs. Napoli -- could occur either at the grounds of home clubs or be relocated to Portugal for Aug. 7-8. The Estadio D. Afonso Henriques (Guimaraes) and Estadio do Dragao (Porto) are available for those games.
From there, the rest of the tournament will move to a single-elimination format with fixtures played at Benfica's Estadio da Luz and Sporting's Estadio Jose Alvalade. Quarterfinal contests begin Aug. 12, with the Final set for Aug. 23 at the Estadio da Luz:
The Turkish capital of Instanbul was the 2020 Final's original home, but officials agreed to relinquish the match's rights upon learning the uncontrolled virus outbreak would likely lead to the game happening behind closed doors and without spectators.
Instabul instead receives the 2021 Final, which relocates the 2022 Final to St. Petersburg, Russia.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was non-committal when asked if supporters will be welcomed to any UCL fixtures in Portugal.
"We haven't decided yet about fans or not," he said. "We will assess at the beginning of July. It would be incompetent for us to decide in advance about an uncertain situation."
Schedule alterations caused by the pandemic also forced UEFA to transfer the Europa League quarterfinals, semifinals, and Final to the German cities of Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, and Gelsenkirchen. That tournament is a straight knock-out competition moving forward and will finish between Aug. 10-21.
By the end of this weekend, the German Bundesliga, English Premier League, and Italian Serie A will all have resumed campaigns postponed in March due to the pandemic.
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