Coronavirus: Valencia star Rodrigo says Champions League match may have spread virus

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Madrid, June 5: Valencia striker Rodrigo says the second-leg of the Champions League last-16 match against Atalanta "perhaps shouldn't have been played" because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Rodrigo's comments to Spanish television channel TVE come after the top health official in the Valencia region said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini "lacked responsibility" for traveling to Spain with symptoms of the virus. He recently told Italian media he felt sick the day before the March 10 match in Valencia.

Rodrigo says "this is in the past now ... but it's true that after the tests began many players tested positive" in the Valencia squad. The club said at the time that about 35% of people in the team had the virus.

Experts say the first leg on February 19 in Milan was one of the biggest reasons why the virus was so deadly in Atalanta's home city of Bergamo. The match has been dubbed "Game Zero" by Italian media.

Similarly, in Liverpool, its believed that the March 11 Champions League meeting with Atletico Madrid may have also played a role in the virus spreading both in the UK and Spain.