Angel Correa (Atletico de Madrid) celebrates after scoring a goal which is later disallowed following a VAR check during La Liga match round 36 between Atletico de Madrid and Real Betis Balompie at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain. Manu R.B./Alter Photos/Sipa USA

Atletico Madrid cleared for Champions League quarterfinal after positive coronavirus tests

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Aug 10, 2020 1:56 PM ET

Atletico Madrid confirmed on Monday that members of the club's traveling party tested negative for the coronavirus and will fly to Portugal on Tuesday for Thursday's Champions League quarterfinal showdown versus Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.

Angel Correa and Sime Vrsaljko both tested positive over the weekend. The two players are asymptomatic and self-isolating.

The club added that 21 first-team footballers and academy players Alex Dos Santos, Manu Sanchez, Riquelme and Toni Moya are making the journey to Lisbon on Tuesday. Barring the discovery of a virus outbreak within the team, Atleti should be cleared to take the pitch on Thursday evening.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, UEFA altered the Champions League format for the remainder of the campaign. All fixtures are one-legged ties held at either Benfica's Estadio da Luz or Sporting Lisbon's Estadio Jose Alvalade. The Final is scheduled for Aug. 23 at the Estadio da Luz.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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