UEFA has announced that Chelsea Football Club will NOT play Spanish Giant Real Madrid at home in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final encounter.
On Friday morning, the incumbent European champions were drawn against the LaLiga giants, who are chasing a 14th European crown.
Chelsea’s tie with Atletico Madrid was rumored to have been reversed because both clubs cannot play at home on the same day, but the governing body has clarified this is not the case.
As a result, Thomas Tuchel’s team will not play away first before returning home for the crucial second leg; instead, they will play the second leg in Spain, as scheduled.
Manchester City will face Atletico Madrid in the other half of the draw, while Liverpool will face Benfica. In the other last-eight match, Bayern Munich will face Villarreal.
Chelsea advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Lille, while Real Madrid stunned Paris Saint-Germain with a stunning comeback.
Last season, the Blues beat Real 3-1 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 at the Bernabeu before winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to advance.
Chelsea defeated Lille 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 and traveled to France to beat Lille 2-1 in the second leg. The home and away victory helped them to qualify for the quarter-final stage of the competition.
To progress further, the Premier League side are condemned to knock out Real Madrid which ended the journey of PSG in the round of 16 stage of the competition.
It will be interesting to see how coach Carlo Ancelotti will lead Real Madrid to stop coach Thomas Tuchel’s men in this round. Note that Real Madrid have never knocked out Chelsea in this stage of the Champions League.
UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals in full
Quarter-finals (first team to play home leg first):
Chelsea vs Real Madrid.
Manchester City vs Atletico.
Villarreal vs Bayern Munich.
Benfica vs Liverpool.
Semi-finals (first team to play home leg first):
Winner of Manchester City vs Atletico vs Winner of Chelsea vs Real Madrid.
Winner of Benfica vs Liverpool vs Winner of Villarreal vs Bayern Munich.
