Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final to be played in Seville
Both legs of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Porto will be played in Seville because of COVID-19 regulations.
The Portuguese government have recently tightened their restrictions when it comes to players entering and leaving the country, with the Porto squad limited in the countries they are permitted to travel to.
?️ The #UCL quarter-final first and second legs between @FCPorto and @ChelseaFC will both now be played in Seville, Spain.
? In the #UWCL, @OLfeminin v @PSG_Feminines, scheduled for 31 March, has been postponed.
— UEFA (@UEFA) March 30, 2021
Because of that, the idea of playing both legs at a neutral venue was proposed, and UEFA have now confirmed on their official website that the two games will now take place at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville.
Chelsea’s ‚away‘ leg will come first on April 7, before they play the role of ‚hosts‘ six days later on April 13.
It will be Thomas Tuchel’s first trip to Seville this season, but for Chelsea, they have already enjoyed a visit to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan this year.
Frank Lampard took his side to Sevilla in his penultimate Champions League game in charge and secured one of the best results of his time at the club – a 4-0 win courtesy of a record-breaking four-goal haul from Olivier Giroud.
Giroud was in electric form that night, completing the perfect hat-trick – left foot, right foot, header – before tapping home from the penalty spot to seal an emphatic victory for Chelsea.
Tuchel may not have taken his team to Seville this season, but he does have experience playing at a neutral venue. The ‚away‘ leg of the last-16 meeting with Atletico Madrid was played in Romania, where another Giroud goal secured a crucial 1-0 victory.
Before that, however, Chelsea must focus on overcoming West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Blues currently sit fourth in the table and there are finally no teams capable of catching up through games in hand. They will hope to close the gap to Leicester City, who are five points ahead and play leaders Manchester City later in the day.