The Reds won the first leg 2-0 at Puskas Arena, and the second leg will now take place at the same stadium in the capital city of Hungary
Liverpool and RB Leipzig’s second-leg match of the Champions League last 16 will be held in Budapest due to coronavirus restrictions, the Hungary FA and UEFA have confirmed.
The first leg was also held in the Hungarian capital, with Liverpool defeating the Bundesliga outfit 2-0 at the Puskas Arena on February 16.
Jurgen Klopp’s men served as the away side in the first leg and will now be the home side as they face Leipzig in the second leg next Wednesday at the same stadium.
What has been said?
The European football authority said in a statement on Thursday morning: “UEFA is able to officially confirm that the Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Liverpool and RB Leipzig will now be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. The date of the match (March 10, 2021) and the kick-off time (9pm CET) will remain the same.
“UEFA would like to express its gratitude to Liverpool and RB Leipzig for their support and close cooperation, as well as the Hungarian Football Federation for their assistance and agreeing to stage the match.”
Why are the games being held in Hungary?
Instead of holding the games in Germany and England, the two sides will play both matches in Budapest due to coronavirus restrictions on travel.
The German government denied Liverpool entry into the country for the first leg amid concerns over new strains of coronavirus, which are prevalent in the UK.
Should Leipzig have travelled to England for the second leg, the German government informed the team last month that they would need to quarantine upon their return.
What other games have been held in Budapest?
Aside from the Liverpool-RB Leipzig tie, Manchester City’s Champions League last-16 away leg against Borussia Monchengladbach also took place at Puskas Arena.
The second leg of that tie will, however, be held at Etihad Stadium in Manchester on March 16 as scheduled.
Tottenham’s Europa League last-32 first leg against Austrian side Wolfsberger also took place at Puskas Arena.
The stadium is also set to host the Europa League last-16 second leg between Molde and Granada on March 18.
What has Klopp said about Budapest?
After the first leg, the Liverpool boss was asked about Budapest and the Puskas Arena. He replied: “Thank you for asking! Brilliant, really brilliant. It’s a great stadium. Inside it looks a little bit like Atletico Madrid’s stadium, which felt good to us to be honest!
“The pitch was great, it’s a proper football stadium, and I’m pretty sure if it’s sold out in the future it will create some proper atmosphere.
“Thank you very much Budapest for having us. We don’t take things like this for granted. In these times we did everything we could do to keep everybody as safe as possible, and I’m pretty sure it worked out.
“Even if we’d lost the game, the stadium was still great!”
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