Lisbon remains the favourite for the Champions League Final Eight mini-tournament, as Madrid is hurt by having teams still in the competition.
UEFA will decide on June 17 where to host the remaining fixtures and in what format, as the coronavirus lockdown occurred when some sides – including Atalanta – had already secured their place in the quarter-finals, while others were midway through their Round of 16 ties.
Lisbon remains the favourite for the Champions League Final Eight mini-tournament, as Madrid is hurt by having teams still in the competition.
UEFA will decide on June 17 where to host the remaining fixtures and in what format, as the coronavirus lockdown occurred when some sides – including Atalanta – had already secured their place in the quarter-finals, while others were midway through their Round of 16 ties.
It's widely reported that UEFA will create a Final Eight knockout competition with the quarter-finalists in one-off games, the same for the semi-finals and then the Final.
In order to limit travel, they will all be played in one country and preferably one city.
There are two that would fit the bill, especially nations whose COVID-19 numbers are now very low indeed: Lisbon and Madrid.
However, Sky Sport Italia point out Portugal is by far the favourite because there are no more Portuguese representatives in the Champions League, whereas Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and even Barcelona would see Spain as home advantage.
Because the Portuguese numbers have been so low since the start of the pandemic, they could even allow some fans into the arenas.