BOTH legs of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final with Porto will be played at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Spain after Portugal banned flights to and from the UK
Both legs of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final tie with Porto will be played in Spain next month, UEFA have confirmed.
Thomas Tuchel’s men were due to travel to Portugal for first leg on April 7 before hosting the return leg at Stamford Bridge on April 13.
But both matches will now be played at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on the same dates, despite Portugal being removed from the UK’s red list.
Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium is set to host Porto vs Chelsea, according to reports
Portugal was on the UK’s red list of countries – which carry a 10-day quarantine period in a government-approved hotel for those travelling from them – until March 19.
But despite the country being removed, a blanket ban on flights to and from the UK means Porto are unable to host the first leg at their Estadio do Dragao.
It also means that Chelsea will lose home advantage for the second leg, with the Portuguse side banned from flying to London.
The government’s red list, which is in place to reduce the transmission of new Covid variants to the UK, has 35 countries on it at present.
Chelsea were forced to play the first leg of their last-16 win over Atletico Madrid in Romania after Spain banned travellers from the UK amid fears over the spread of coronavirus.
The Blues retained home advantage for the second leg, beating the LaLiga side 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to progress 3-0 on aggregate.
But it appears that Portugal’s ban on flights from the UK could mean that the second leg is also moved to a neutral venue.
If the first leg with Porto is moved to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, it would be the second time this season that Chelsea have played there.
Olivier Giroud scored all four goals as the Premier League side – then managed by Frank Lampard – thrashed Sevilla 4-0 in the group stage last December.