A crowd of 105,826 at Saturday's Int'l Champions Cup match between Chelsea and Real Madrid at Michigan Stadium marks the "second largest" to ever watch a soccer match in the U.S., according to Larry O'Connor of the DETROIT NEWS. It is "shy only of the 109,318 who witnessed Manchester United beat Real Madrid" at Michigan Stadium in '14. Meanwhile, the Paris Saint-Germain-Real Madrid match last Wednesday at 104,944-capacity Ohio Stadium "drew 86,641, which is the largest crowd ever to see a soccer match in that state." Finally, the Liverpool-Chelsea match Thursday "turned out more than 53,000 spectators" at the 92,542-capacity Rose Bowl in Pasadena (DETROIT NEWS, 7/31). In Detroit, Shawn Windsor noted Real Madrid MF Cristiano Ronaldo did not play in Saturday's match, though it "hardly mattered to the thousands of fans who crammed outside the entrance to the Michigan Stadium tunnel in order to scream for their favorite players." Fans "drove from all points in the region, and from all manner of neighborhoods." Windsor: "All you had to do was take a look at the crowd that packed the stadium, a diverse and multi-layered throng connected to players from around the globe" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/31).
OTHER GAMES: In California, Damian Calhoun noted Paris St. Germain defeated Leicester City 4-0 "in front of a crowd of 25,667 at StubHub Center" on Saturday (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/31). Meanwhile, Bayern Munich defeated Inter Milan 4-1 in front of 53,629 at Bank of America Stadium, down from a crowd of 61,000 last year for a Chelsea-PSG ICC match last year (TWITTER.com, 7/30).
START IT UP: In Minneapolis, Amelia Rayno noted more than 55,000 tickets "have been sold" for Wednesday's Chelsea-AC Milan match at U.S. Bank Stadium, the first sporting event at the new venue. Stadium GM Patrick Talty expects that number "will include both stadium tourists and soccer nuts who would make up the largest attendance for a soccer match" in Minnesota. Fans beginning at 5:00pm CT "can gather on the expansive plaza" to watch the U.S. women's Olympic team "face off with New Zealand on big screens, listen to music, participate in soccer drills and shop at the clubs' merchandise trailers." Rayno noted everything that "will be available during the Vikings regular season, from the ticket taking to the vendors, will be unveiled Wednesday" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/31).
