Champions League quarterfinals: matches, dates and when they are played

Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal They already have a rival in the Champions League quarterfinals. This morning at 12:00 the draw took place at the House of European Football in Nyon (Switzerland). Real Madrid will face the current champion of the highest continental competition: Chelsea. Atlético de Madrid will travel to Manchester to face the current leader of the Premier League, the Manchester City. For its part, Villarreal will start playing at La Cerámica against Bayern. The Benfica will host at the Estadio da Luz the Liverpool.

When will the quarterfinals be played?

The date on which the Champions quarterfinal teams will meet is already known. The first leg matches will be played on April 5/6, while the return will be the April 12/13. On the other hand, the first leg matches corresponding to the semi-finals will take place April 26/27, as well as those back May 3/4. The grand final of the Champions League will take place on Saturday May 28 at the Stade de France (Paris).

Confirmed schedules for Madrid and Atlético

The draw for the quarter-finals meant that the second legs of Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid –against Chelsea and Manchester City respectively– would both be held in the Spanish capital. Even though UEFA had considered the possibility of changing the order of the matches, keeping the second leg of the mattresses at the Wanda Metropolitano and the white team being the one who played the first leg at homeas reported Monica Marchant on the microphones #Gofinally there will be no changes. Real Madrid refused the modification proposed by UEFA and, while the first leg of the quarter-finals will take place at Stamford Bridge, London, on Wednesday 6 April, the Santiago Bernabéu will host the final clash on Tuesday, April 12, against the Blues.

As for Atlético de Madrid, UEFA has also confirmed that the first match of the tie for the colchoneros will be played on Tuesday, April 5, at the Etihad Stadium. The second leg, held at the red-and-white fiefdom, is scheduled for April 13, one day after Real Madrid hosts Chelsea at the Madridista Coliseum. In other words, as happened with Real Betis and Sevilla FC in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16, the fans of Chelsea and Manchester City will meet in the Spanish capital, playing their respective games one day apart.

Why is the order not changed?

The UEFA regulations specify that if two teams from the same city play the same competition at home in the same week, the match of one of them will be modified. It already happened with Betis and Sevilla in the Europa League, and Betis had to play on Wednesday instead of Thursday. In the Champions League, being consecutive days, it would not be necessary to change anything.

Yes, there would be a problem if Madrid and Atleti had played in the same stadium. Then article 23.3 says whatif more than one club from the same city, or within a radius of 50 km (31 miles) of each other, is participating in any of the UEFA club competitions and/or playing in the same stadium, and if the association and the clubs in question explicitly declare when entering the clubs that their matches cannot be played on the same day or on consecutive days, the dates and kick-off times may be modified or confirmed by the UEFA administration in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee”.

Which teams will meet in the semifinals?

The semifinals will face winner of the second match (Manchester City – Atletico Madrid) vs. winner of the first (Chelsea – Real Madrid), so there could be a Madrid derby in which the first finalist would be determined. The second semi-final will face fourth match winner (Benfica – Liverpool) against winner of the third (Villarreal – Bavaria).