OFFICIAL: Champions League to return on 7th August, final stages in Lisbon

The Champions League final eight will be played in Lisbon in August, UEFA have confirmed. 

The four remaining last 16 games will be held in August at the grounds of the teams who are scheduled to host the first legs. Those matches will take place on 7th and 8th August. Those games are Man City versus Real Madrid, Bayern Munich v Chelsea, Juventus v Lyon and Barcelona v Napoli. The scheduled home team will host the game providing the situation allows. If not, then Porto and Guimaraes will host the games.

But, from the quarter-final stages onwards, all the games will be held in Lisbon. They will be between 12th and 15th August. The semi-finals will be on 18th and 19th August and the final on the 23rd. 

'Bild' revealed a possibility that has been taking shape up until the official announcement day. After the refusal of Istanbul to host the final behind closed doors, UEFA looked for a venue which would host the final game. 

But the COVID-19 pandemic changed all those plans. Therefore, the European organisation finally inclined to develop the Champions League in full at just one ground. So, it would be certain, if the demands are met and it is easier to control the maximum number of possible details. 

Lisbon, from the beginning, was one of the favourites. It met all the requirements that the organisation was looking for: low number of COVID-19 cases, no Portuguese teams in the latter stages and plenty of stadia. 

The Wanda also showed interest to be the chosen venue as did Moscow and Frankfurt, but Portugal will not only host the final, but also the rest of the tournament. 

The final will be at the Estadio Da Luz, the home of Benfica, and will be played on 23rd August. It will be the culmination of the strangest Champions League in history. 

The Portuguese capital hosted the final in 2014. It was when Real Madrid beat Atletico 4-1 in a game which saw Ramos score in the 93rd minute to level the scores. 

Lisbon also hosted the final in 1967. Then, Celtic lifted the trophy after beating Inter 2-1,