Chelsea's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid to take place in Bucharest

The venue for Chelsea's Champions League game against Atletico Madrid has been changed and now the match will take place at Arena Nationala in Bucharest, UEFA announced on Wednesday.

The venue for Chelsea's Champions League game against Atletico Madrid has been changed and now the match will take place at Arena Nationala in Bucharest, UEFA announced on Wednesday. Earlier, the match was scheduled to be played at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.

"UEFA is able to officially confirm that the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Chelsea FC will now be played at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest. The date of the match (23 February 2021) and the kick-off time (21:00 CET) will remain the same," UEFA said in a statement. "UEFA would like to express its gratitude to Club Atletico de Madrid and Chelsea FC for their support and close cooperation, as well as the Romanian Football Federation for their assistance and agreeing to stage the match," it added.

Atletico Madrid also made an announcement regarding the development and added that the venue was changed due to the Spanish Government's restrictions on entry into Spain, which currently do not allow the arrival of flights from the United Kingdom with non-resident and non-national passengers amid the coronavirus pandemic. "Our Champions League last 16 first leg fixture against Chelsea FC, which was originally scheduled to be played at the Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 9pm CET, will finally take place at the Arena Nationala stadium in Bucharest. Our club has agreed the change of venue - date and time remained unchanged - with UEFA, forced by the Spanish Government's restrictions on entry into Spain, which currently do not allow the arrival of flights from the United Kingdom with non-resident and non-national passengers," the club said in a statement.

"Given the impossibility for the English team to travel to Spain, Atletico de Madrid has been looking for alternatives during the last few days, taking into account factors such as access to the country, availability of facilities, stadiums and the situation of the pandemic. It has been agreed with UEFA that the venue for the Champions League Last 16 first leg will be the Arena Nationala in Bucharest," the statement added. (ANI)

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