UEFA confident of holding City-Madrid tie despite COVID-19 scare

UEFA, European football's governing body, has said it is confident of holding Real Madrid's Champions League tie with Manchester City next week amid the COVID-19 scare. The Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City is slated to be played on August 8 at the Etihad Stadium.

Spanish giants Real Madrid on Tuesday confirmed that striker Mariano Diaz tested positive for coronavirus following the latest round of tests carried out by the club on Monday.

The recently-crowned LaLiga winners further informed that the 26-year-old has put himself under self-isolation at home but also stated that he remains in 'perfect health'.

"UEFA is in contact with the club and monitoring both the situation and decisions of the relevant Spanish authorities," UEFA said in a statement to British media.

"We are confident that this case will not affect the regular staging of the match in question."

Manchester City won the first leg 2-1 in their last-16 clash before the competition was suspended in March due to the health crisis.

It is likely that 22-year-old Serbian striker Luka Jovic will have some role to play in the potential absence of Diaz against City.

Star striker Karim Benzema will once again lead the line in clash, having been the force behind Real juggernaut this season. He scored 21 goals in the league to help the team win their first LaLiga title since 2017 and 34th overall.