The UEFA Champions League is making a comeback after a five-month, COVID-19-induced hiatus. The soccer league resumes with Manchester City vs. Real Madrid and Juventus going up against Lyon. Both games will begin at 3 p.m. ET with Manchester City vs. Real Madrid available on CBS Sports Network and CBS All Access. Juventus vs. Lyon will only be available to stream on CBS All Access.
How to Watch the Return of the UEFA Champions League
- When: Begins Friday, Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. ET
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Stream: Watch with 30-Day Free Trial on CBS All Access
According to Sporting News, mandatory lockdowns went into effect the same day Atlético Madrid delivered a win over Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain beat out Dortmund to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.
Those matches left four Round of 16 games on the 2019-20 schedule, with RB Leipzig and Atalanta also advancing to the quarterfinals pre-lockdowns. This year’s quarterfinals and semifinals will be single-elimination instead of the customary two-leg series, Sporting News reports.
“It’s a phenomenal format for us in the U.S. to do it this way,” ViacomCBS chief digital officer Marc DeBevoise told The Associated Press. “A single elimination tournament is something these audiences fully understand. Obviously, there are big soccer fans but March Madness having been effectively canceled, I think people are hungry for things like this.”
While soccer fans were waiting eagerly for the league to return, there was a bit of turmoil behind-the-scenes in terms of distribution for the games. In July, Turner Sports threw the world for a loop when it relinquished its rights for Champions League matches prematurely, according to Sporting News.
Their deal was meant to expire in 2021, which is when CBS was to take over. However, after the change of heart, CBS decided to take over the distribution and “will put the majority of the 2020 tournament on CBS All Access, with only a few games — including the Aug. 23 final — on its cable channel CBS Sports Network. None of this season’s games will be on the main CBS channel,” Sporting News noted.
You can stream UEFA Champions League coverage on a wide variety of streaming players, smart TVs, gaming consoles, mobile devices and tablets.
Photo credit: UEFA Champions League Facebook page
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