Boost to Blues’ hopes of playing Madrid at Etihad
UEFA’S proposal to stage the second leg of City’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid in Lisbon have been thrown into doubt.
Changes to the UK’s Covid-19 rules on travellers arriving here from abroad have removed one obstacle to the second leg being held at the Etihad Stadium and created a difficulty in holding it in Portugal.
And the new changes could also put City at a distinct disadvantage in the next Premier League season if they reach the final of the competition.
Uefa have already decided to stage the competition from the quarterfinals onwards entirely in Portugal.
And they were leaning towards also playing the four outstanding last 16 ties - due to be played on August 7 and 8 - in Portugal.
That would have meant City, who lead 2-1 from the first leg at the Bernabeu, would lose home advantage for the return but could, bizarrely, still be eliminated on the away goals rule - even though Lisbon is 1,100 miles closer to Real’s home stadium than it is to Manchester.
At the time, the UK was insisting all travellers from overseas self-isolate for 14 days after arrival - which would make playing the match impossible.
Playing all the games in one country would also mean teams avoiding flying all over Europe, which isn’t a great idea during a pandemic.
But the first of those two reasons has been removed by the lifting of restrictions on travellers from Spain, Real can now come to Manchester, play the game and return home the following day, as normal.
But the change in restrictions also means that anyone travelling to Portugal has to self-isolate for 14 days on returning to this country. So if City go to Lisbon for the second leg, on August 7 or 8, they would have to stay there to play in the quarter-finals if they get through.
Manager Pep Guardiola would obviously prefer to play the game in Manchester, but the idea of a week of training and acclimatisation in Portugal - if City progress - would not be unappealing.
But the problem is then just postponed as City would still be forced to self-isolate whenever they return to Manchester.
If they reached the Champions League final, on August 23 and flew home the next day, they would have to self-isolate in Manchester for a fortnight.
That would take them to within five days of the start of the new Premier League season on September 12.
City could rightly argue that such arrangements would put them at a real disadvantage, as they would be unable to train together until just days before the new campaign.
Uefa have delayed the decision on venues for the remaining last 16 games until the effects of the pandemic, and the various rules in European countries, become clearer.