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
- Chelsea and Porto will both lose home advantage in the Champions League
- Both legs of their quarter-final tie will be played at Sevilla’s stadium in Spain
- Portugal is not on the UK’s red list but flights to and from the UK are banned
- Chelsea played the first leg of their last-16 tie in Romania rather than Madrid
- Olivier Giroud scored four times in Chelsea’s away win at Sevilla last December
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 will host both legs between Chelsea and Porto
Chelsea’s players celebrate during their Champions League last-16 win over Atletico Madrid
In a statement, UEFA said: ‘UEFA is able to officially confirm that the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first and second leg matches involving FC Porto and Chelsea FC, will now both be played at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in Seville. The dates of the matches (7 April and 13 April 2021) and the kick-off times (21:00CET) will remain the same.
‘UEFA would like to thank FC Porto and Chelsea FC for their support and close cooperation, as well as the Portuguese Football Federation, The Football Association, the Royal Spanish Football Federation and Sevilla FC for their assistance and agreeing to stage the matches.’
Portugal was on the UK’s red list of countries – which all carry a 10-day quarantine period in a government-approved hotel for those travelling from them – until March 19.
Porto’s squad go wild after stunning Juventus to reach the last eight of the Champions League
But despite the country being taken off nearly a fortnight ago, 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 Portuguese 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 Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium will host top European games despite Sevilla’s exit
The Blues retained home advantage for the second leg, beating the LaLiga side 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to progress 3-0 on aggregate.
Chelsea’s double trip to Seville will mean they have played at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium three times this season.
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.
Sevilla were knocked out of the competition at the last-16 stage by Borussia Dortmund, leaving their stadium free for Chelsea and Porto.
Olivier Giroud (right) scored four times on Chelsea’s last visit to Seville in December last year