The Champions are back: everything there is to know

The Champions returns. The heavenly music of the best club tournament in the world plays. He does it on stage and in unexpected, almost emergency circumstances. LA coronavirus pandemic completely modified the competition when the round of 16 was at stake. The virus broke through the Champions League and the UEFA solution had to alter schedules and plans.

Lisbon, and not Istanbul, will be the scene of a final to eight and stepping on the month of August, something unheard of. Before, the knockout stages for the remaining eighths must be decided in their return matches: Manchester City-Real Madrid, Juventus-Lyon, Barcelona-Naples and Bayern-Chelsea. These meetings will each be at the home team stadium.

Madrid, to be traced in the Etihad (August 7)

It seems a complicated company, but Madrid comes from going back and being champion in the League. If there is any team capable of such a feat, it is the white team. The 1-2 of the first leg is a very important slab, even more without Sergio Ramos, sanctioned, among those who pursue that dream. The City is powerful in the offensive aspect, although it leaves doubts behind. So he lost the FA Cup semi-final recently to Arsenal at Wembley. In addition, Kun Agüero may miss the match. The clash will serve to put Zidane and Guardiola face to face, two of the best technicians in the world. Zizou has conquered three Champions with Madrid, while Pep seeks to win the title with a team other than Barça. He did not do it with Bayern, will he do it with City?

Watch out for Naples at the Camp Nou (August 8)

Champion of the Coppa Italia after defeating Juve in the final, Napoli has changed its face since Gattuso came to the bench. It is a much more attractive team and the results have also accompanied. That is why Barça cannot be trusted a bit, despite having the 1-1 of the first leg in San Paolo. Griezmann's goal then is the best of news for the Catalans, depressed after losing the league based on draws and with the sad culmination of defeat at home against Osasuna. Cheating match, no doubt. Barça's big problem will be in the absences. Busquets and Vidal are penalized and Griezmann comes from an injury. But Barça's solution does not go through them or anyone else except Messi. If Leo is Leo, Barça will be in Lisbon.

Bayern have it, Juve not yet (August 7 and 8)

The German champion and the Italian champion have not yet secured their tickets to Lisbon. Bayern caresses him, after the 0-3 with which he concluded the first leg at Stamford Bridge. The Bavarians have gone from exhibition to exhibition until they won the Bundesliga and the Pozal. Juventus will suffer the most, having left doubts despite winning Serie A. With Cristiano and Dybala at a high level it should be enough to overcome a Lyon that has only played one official match, the final of the League Cup, in the last five months, and lost it. To think that Bayern and Juventus could be in the quarterfinals is to add two giants and history from European clubs to the list of favorites. If they are among the eight finalists, they are candidates like the most.

UEFA dispensed with Istanbul – it will host the grand final next year – and opted for Portugal because the Portuguese country is one of the least affected by the pandemic and because Lisbon, its capital, has two stadiums with the highest level of performance in just a few kilometers around. They are Da Luz, who belongs to Benfica, and José Alvalade, whose owner is Sporting de Portugal. Between both venues all the matches will be played, with the culmination of the grand final that will take place at the legendary Da Luz stadium. The format will be a final to eight with single-game eliminations. In the event of a tie, there will be overtime and penalties. UEFA's emergency solution will give the Champions extra excitement. There will be no room for error and a bad day can leave anyone out. Forbidden to fail for favorites.

The final eight will run from August 12 to 23 and two crosses are already known: Atlético-RB Leipzig and Atalanta-PSG. In the quarterfinals, those teams, already classified at the time, await, including Atleti after getting off the champion Liverpool and PSG, who did the same against Dortmund. Likewise, the revelations RB Leipzig and Atalanta will live historical matches thanks to the fact that they beat Tottenham and Valencia in the previous round, respectively.

Curiously, the side of the box that make up Atlético, PSG, RB Leipzig and Atalanta does not have any European champion. One of them will be in the final and will be able to fight to lift the Cup for the first time in history. Only Atlético, who have lost three finals, know what it's like to be close to it. Simeone's team travels to Lisbon as one of the great cloaks. He has already shown what he is capable of eliminating Liverpool at Anfield with a superb Marcos Llorente and threatens to do the same with RB Leipzig. In addition to Llorente, the focus will be on Joao Félix. The Portuguese crack, the most expensive signing of last summer, will have the opportunity to win the Champions League in his country and in the stadium where until recently he played. It has not been his best season that of the premiere in LaLiga, but everything can change if he makes a good Champions League and manages to give Atleti the title that he longs for.

If the mattress club qualifies, they can meet Neymar and Mbappé's PSG in the semifinals. By the way, the participation of the French attacker against Atalanta remains to be seen, after the strong sprain that was made in the final of the French Cup against Saint-Etienne. The Gasperini DEA is two teams that are daring, offensive and with nothing to lose. Be careful with him, especially if he doesn't play Mbappé. In this context, the unquestionable leader of the Parisians must be Neymar. The Brazilian has been asked since he arrived at the club to achieve the Champions League and this is a great opportunity to respond to that responsibility. PSG have always encountered great teams at this stage of the competition, but this time they find themselves in third place in Serie A and a club with little European experience. It is a painted opportunity to be in the semifinals. Neymar knows this and will try to verify it.

On the other side of the table, meanwhile, you can cross several of the clubs with the highest honors in the competition. Juventus, Bayern, Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​if all were classified, would accumulate 26 titles on one side of the table, on the other side.

The Benfica stadium, Da Luz, will host the Champions League final on August 23 at 9:00 p.m. (CET). It will be the second final of the competition to be played in said stadium. The previous one was that of 2014 conquered by Real Madrid against Atlético 4-1 with the indelible memory of Sergio Ramos' goal in the 93rd minute that forced overtime and prevented Atléti from proclaiming himself champion for the first time.

Before that, Da Luz already hosted the final of the 2004 European Championship between Portugal and Greece, ended with a 0-1 victory for the Hellenes in one of the biggest surprises in recent football history.

The Cathedral, as Da Luz is called, was built in 2003 by the HOK Sport group, now Populous, and it cost 162 million euros. It has a capacity of 64,642 spectators and an area of ​​105X68.

As has happened with the national championships, all matches will be played behind closed doors. In addition, the teams will be guarded in their hotels before strong security measures so that the players dedicate themselves exclusively to training and playing. The sanitary measures imposed by the Portuguese government and supported by the European Union will be followed at all costs.

Madrid is the clear owner of the Champions League record. It has 13 titles, four of them in the last decade, and is followed in the classification by Milan, which has 7. Liverpool, with 6, is third. Of the teams that are still in competition and that can scratch a title for Madrid, Bayern and Barcelona stand out, with five Champions each.