Manchester City to play Real Madrid second leg at Etihad Stadium
Manchester City have been given the go-ahead from Uefa to play the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium.
European football’s governing body have also ruled that Manchester United and Wolves can have home advantage in their Europa League fixtures against Lask Linz and Olympiakos. Chelsea will travel to Bayern Munich and Rangers to Bayer Leverkusen as scheduled.
The move largely ends uncertainty over where the remaining last-16 matches involving British clubs would be played. It had been mooted that games could be switched to a neutral venue in early August because of the coronavirus pandemic. Uefa said it reserved the right to move matches still, however, if circumstances demanded.
In the Europa League, Inter v Getafe and Sevilla v Roma, whose first legs were postponed, will be played as one-off ties in Germany but all other matches in both competitions will be held as scheduled.
From the quarter-finals the Champions League and Europa League will be held in Portugal and Germany, respectively, as one-off games. Any last-16 games forced to move would be played in those countries.
The final rounds of Uefa’s marquee competitions will be played over two weeks in August in a tournament format that has been compared to the World Cup. The governing body said, however, that as it stands all these matches will be played behind closed doors.
Should conditions improve with relation to the pandemic that situation may change. Uefa said it would “monitor the evolution of the situation and advise on any full or partial lifting of restrictions”.
City have a 2-1 lead from the first leg in Madrid and Manchester United and Wolves are also well placed to progress. United won 5-0 in Austria and Wolves secured a 1-1 draw in Greece.
The task facing Chelsea in the Champions League and Rangers in the Europa League is far stiffer, with the London club trailing 3-0 and Scottish Premiership side 3-1.
The draws for the quarter- and semi-finals of the Champions and Europa Leagues will take place on Friday from 11am BST.