There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about when the Champions League. It was being said that UEFA’s idea was to wait for national competitions to end. The plan would be for these championships to be played between June and July to leave August completely free, which would be when the Champions League would return. It was not official and still is not, but ‘Sky Italia’ has published today the calendar with which the maximum continental competition could return.
According to the aforementioned Italian media, UEFA already knows how and when the return of the Champions will be and will make it official sooner or later. The tournament will be played, as previously said, in August. In addition, it should be noted that it will not undergo any format change, which was one of the possibilities. The highest body of European football will maintain the usual format with round trips in the quarters and in the semifinals.
If nothing strange happens, FC Barcelona-Naples will be on August 8 at the Camp Nou. That would be the date that UEFA has set for the match dispute that will decide another of the quarter-finalists. We must remember that the Catalans tied one in San Paolo in the first leg and they risk their lives at home. Unfortunately for them, the return of the Champions League will theoretically be behind closed doors because of the coronavirus, so the Blaugrana must pass without the heat of their people.
In addition to the return between the Neapolitans and the Catalans, three more clashes of the eighths must also be played. The Real Madrid would play in this case against Manchester City at Ettihad on August 7. The Whites lost 1-2 in the first leg and they have no choice but to go back outside to be in the quarters. For its part, also on 7 Juventus Turin will have to turn around the 1-0 against that they reaped in Lyon at Juventus Stadium. In addition, Bayern, who won in the first leg 0-3, will try to certify their pass in Munich against Chelsea on August 8.
Sky Italia: The Champions will resume on August 7 with Juve – OL and Man City – Real Madrid. On day 8, Bayern – Chelsea and Barça – Naples. From 11 to 15, quarterfinals. From 18 to 22, semifinals. End on 29-A. UCL 20/21 will start in October. pic.twitter.com/hGSOZLhtWL
– Àlex de Llano (@AlexDeLlano) April 18, 2020
The teams that have to play the round of the eighths will start with some disadvantage, since the first leg, according to this information, would be only a few days later. On August 11 and 12 this round would be disputed, while the return would be between 14 and 15. A few days later, on the 18th and 19th, the first leg of the Champions League semifinals would take place, while the return would be 21 and 22, with hardly any time to breathe. If all this is accomplished, the grand final will be played in Istanbul at Ataturk Stadium on August 29.
The Champions 2020/2021 would start in October
In addition, UEFA would also have already planned what to do with the next edition of the Champions League. Normally it would start at the end of September, but given this new situation, it would be postponed until the end of October, a month later. In this way, it would be normal for the dates between the group stage and the eighths to be tight and there is not as much rest time as usual.
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