Last night's Int'l Champions Cup Manchester City-Real Madrid match drew 93,098 fans at L.A. Coliseum, the "largest soccer crowd in the stadium's history." The crowd had a "raucous tone," with the "overwhelming majority donning the iconic white kits" of Real Madrid (L.A. TIMES, 7/27). In another ICC match, a crowd of 80,162 was on hand at FedExField for FC Barcelona-Manchester United. The lone goal of the match by FCB F Neymar "had many in Barcelona colors buzzing the rest of the night" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/27).
Juventus' win over Paris Saint-Germain last night drew a "buoyant crowd" of 44,444 to Hard Rock Stadium, the site of Saturday's "El Clasico." The FCB-Real Madrid match "would do well to clear the bar set Wednesday in terms of entertaining, lively futbol" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/27). Last night "had the trimmings of a big event," but the crowd "wasn't as animated as when South American powerhouses have visited, or can be expected for Saturday's sellout" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/27). FCB and Real Madrid arrive today in South Florida, and organizers "remained hopeful" that Real Madrid F Cristiano Ronaldo would "make it to Miami by Saturday" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/27).
