Popular Now:
Americans Abroad Major League Soccer MLS USMNT
Top Stories

UEFA unveils new format for Champions League knockout rounds in August

by

The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League will officially be on its way back this August.

UEFA confirmed the return of the tournament this summer with a 12-day condensed tournament in Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday. The country will host the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final between August 12-23 at a pair of stadiums; 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. The remaining Round of 16 second legs will take place on August 7-8, but it is undecided if those matches will take place at their respective venues or also in Portugal.
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.

“If I would answer today, we don’t think we could have spectators at the Champions League or Europa League finals, but things are changing rapidly,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said.

“We will assess the situation at the beginning of July and we will see what the situation will be. It would be incompetent from us if we were to decide in advance about the situation.”

Here’s a closer look at the reported dates for the final rounds:
  • Remaining Last 16 Matches: August 7-8
  • Champions League Quarterfinals: August 12-15
  • Champions League Semifinals: August 18-19
  • Champions League Final: August 23

In addition, the UEFA Europa League will also resume from the last eight onward across four venues in Germany between August 10-21. Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen will be the host cities in Germany for the conclusion of the competition.

Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, and FC Basel were among three first leg winners who will look to book their places in the quarterfinals. Both Inter Milan vs. Getafe and Sevilla vs. AS Roma have two legs to play after first legs did not occur due to COVID-19’s impact in Spain and Italy.

The draws for both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League quarterfinals and semifinal rounds will take place on July 10th in Nyon, Switzerland.

Leave a Comment