Chelsea's
Champions League round-of-16 first-leg away against Atletico Madrid will now
take place in Bucharest due to coronavirus restrictions.
The match will be staged at the Arena Nationala in the Romanian capital,
following Spanish government restrictions on travellers entering the country
from England.
The game will still take place on Tuesday, February 23, with the second leg
at Stamford Bridge still set for March 17.
It follows earlier confirmation from UEFA that Liverpool's away trip to RB
Leipzig in the competition will now be played in Budapest on February 16,
while Manchester City will also meet Borussia Monchengladbach in Hungary a
week later.
European football's governing body has now confirmed that Chelsea will have
to travel to the Arena Nationala for their first leg tie with Diego
Simeone's Spanish league leaders.
A Chelsea statement said: "UEFA has confirmed that Chelsea's Champions
League Round of 16 first leg match away against Atletico Madrid will now be
played at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest in Romania.
"The date of the match, Tuesday 23 February, and the kick-off (8pm UK time)
will remain the same. The second leg at Stamford Bridge is on Wednesday 17
March at 8pm."
Spain is on a 'red list' of countries drawn up by the UK Government, which
will heavily restrict movement into and out of those nations.
Both legs of Arsenal's Europa League last-32 tie against Benfica are set to
be played in neutral venues in order to satisfy UK coronavirus restrictions,
while the first leg of Manchester United's Europa League tie with Real
Sociedad has also been moved from Spain to Juventus Stadium in Italy.
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