Chelsea and Manchester City could finally find out when they will play the second leg of their Champions League last-16 ties, with UEFA drawing up plans to resume the competition.The coronavirus pandemic halted the Champions League halfway through the first knockout round back in March.
Yet despite the majority of domestic leagues around Europe still in turmoil over how they plan to end or continue the season into the summer, UEFA have pencilled in dates for Europe’s biggest club competition to return, according to Corriere dello Sport. Manchester City will return to action on August 7 to complete their tie with Real Madrid, while Chelsea will be playing a day later at Bayern Munich, five months after the first legs. A full completion is then planned for the tournament, with two-legged quarter-finals taking place just from August 11-15, the semi-finals from August 18-22 and the final on August 29.
Should Chelsea and Manchester City progress they could face a hectic summer, with this season’s Premier League possibly ending as late as June, while the aggressive scheduling of the Champions League could have an impact on their domestic campaigns for the start of the following season which is due to begin in August. Manchester City are in the driving seat from their first leg with Madrid having come from behind at the Bernabeu to win 2-1 thanks to late goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne. Chelsea meanwhile have it all to do after being hammered 3-0 at Stamford Bridge by Bayern in the first leg, with former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry hitting a brace and Robert Lewandowski also finding the target.
Juventus will host Lyon on August 7 a goal down after the first leg, while a day later Barcelona host Napoli following a 1-1 draw.They will be looking to join RB Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Atalanta who have already made the quarter-finals.
Sourced from Mail Online
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