The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League will reportedly be completed in Lisbon, Portugal later this summer.
The top European club competition will resume action over a 12-day condensed tournament, Sky Sports reported Monday. Lisbon will host the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final between August 12-23 at a pair of stadium; the Estadio da Luz and Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, Atalanta and Atletico Madrid all clinched their berths to the quarterfinals after second leg victories.
Manchester City held a 2-1 aggregate advantage of La Liga side Real Madrid while fellow EPL side Chelsea were set to travel to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, down 3-0 after a first leg defeat. The other two Round of 16 ties were scheduled to be Barcelona vs. Napoli (aggregate 1-1) and Juventus vs. Lyon (Lyon leads 1-0).
Due to COVID-19 continuing to impact the world, matches are expected to be held behind closed doors for the competition. Original UCL Final hosts Istanbul are also expected to be compensated with the right to stage a future final.
UEFA is also reportedly targeting mid-October for the start of the 2020-21 Champions League tournament, giving teams a break at the conclusion of their current league seasons as well as this projected mini-tournament.
There has been no decision to continue the UEFA Europa League, which was also in its Round of 16 stage prior to the postponement of the competition. Only six of the eight first legs were played in March with Sevilla, Roma, Inter Milan, and Getafe all refusing to play due to COVID-19’s impact in Spain and Italy.
Here’s a closer look at the reported dates for the final rounds:
- Champions League Quarterfinals: August 12-15
- Champions League Semifinals: August 18/19
- Champions League Final: August 23
This is going to cause huge problems with guys making transfers.