Real Madrid tops Chelsea to cap summer of soccer that drew massive crowds to Charlotte
After a pair of early Real Madrid goals on Tuesday, a crowd, dressed largely in the white jerseys synonymous with Los Blancos, sang the club’s anthem, “Hala Madrid y nada más,” serenading their favorite team’s first game in Charlotte.
The reigning European Champions League winners put on a show early in Tuesday’s friendly against Chelsea and topped their Premier League opponent 2-1 in front of a crowd of 62,617 at Bank of America Stadium. That was more fans than the 52,673 that watched Chelsea fall to Charlotte FC on penalty kicks in an exhibition in 2022.
And for one last time, a Queen City crowd spoiled with soccer matches this summer showed up.
Between July’s Copa America semifinal that saw a crowd of more than 70,000 raucous fans watch Colombia narrowly beat Uruguay, the Copa America third-place match shortly thereafter and Tuesday’s matchup between European clubs, 157,647 fans took in the international matchups at Bank of America this summer, per the announced attendances.
Tuesday’s matchup brought ticket buyers from 49 states and 45 countries to Charlotte, not including complimentary tickets, according to data provided by a Tepper Sports and Entertainment spokesperson. Tickets for July’s Copa America semifinal were acquired by fans from all 50 American states and 60 countries.
Charlotte FC also drew bumper crowds, with recent matchups against MLS powerhouse Inter Miami and Mexican side Cruz Azul drawing announced attendances of 47,218 and 33,329, respectively. The third-year club also had more than 62,000 fans attend its season opener in February.
The Queen City has become a destination for foreign clubs and international teams. Charlotte has hosted an international friendly, club friendly or competitive international tournament at Bank of America Stadium every year since 2018, including the CONCACAF Gold in 2019 and 2023.
“We don’t have the possibility to look around because we arrive at the hotel, train, and back to the hotel,” Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Sunday after a training session at Atrium Health Performance Park, Charlotte FC’s training facility. “I know Charlotte is a fantastic place, and I would like in the future to spend some time here on holiday.”
“The procedure here in USA, the reason is (for) the team to play difficult games,” Ancelotti added. “We have a lot of support here in USA, and we are happy to be there with them.”
And just south of Charlotte, a sellout crowd of 77,559 fans watched Premier League clubs Liverpool and Manchester United complete their preseason U.S. tours on Saturday with the first soccer game hosted at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Fans in the Queen City got to take in the performances of James Rodriguez, Luis Suarez and Alphonso Davies during July’s Copa America, and plenty more stars were on display on Tuesday with both teams rolling out strong sides as their U.S. tours end and their respective seasons approach.
The standout of Tuesday’s match was Brazilian star Vinicius Jr., who was lively for Real Madrid throughout the first half and played a perfectly weighted ball with the outside of his right foot behind Chelsea’s defense to Brahim Diaz in the 27th minute. The Moroccan forward kept his composure, dribbled around the goalkeeper and scored from a tight angle in doubling Los Blancos’ lead.
Real Madrid opened the scoring via Lucas Vazquez, whose deflected shot trickled past Chelsea’s goalkeeper in the 19th minute.
Real Madrid controlled much of the game early thanks to former Ballon D’or winner Luka Modric and a centerback pairing Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao, but Chelsea got a goal back in the 39th minute after young English Noni Madueke got his head on the end of an Enzo Fernandez cross and found the back of the net.
The second half was much less back-and-forth than the first, and neither side found another goal as a result, but another large crowd at Bank of America Stadium created a quality atmosphere throughout Tuesday’s game between European giants, the latest of many large soccer matchups in Charlotte and certainly not the last.
This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 10:45 PM.
