English and Italian football giants Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus will play pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong in August, the clubs announced on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who are currently competing with Arsenal for the Premier League title, will face Inter Milan on Saturday 1 August, led by Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland.
advertise
The match will kick off the Hong Kong Football Festival at the city’s futuristic 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium.
The gleaming stadium, which opened a year ago, features a closable roof and air conditioning to cope with Hong Kong’s summer heat and humidity.
Chelsea will round off the mini-tournament against Juventus on Wednesday 5 August.
Inter Milan, led by former Romania international Christian Chivu, sit eight points clear at the top of Serie A and are seeking a 21st title, behind only Juventus, who have won Italy’s top flight a record 36 times.
Juventus are fourth and hoping to secure a Champions League spot under Luciano Spalletti.
advertise
Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain to win the Club World Cup in the United States last year but have since parted ways with then-manager Enzo Maresca.
Liam Rogniol took over as manager but is under pressure to keep his job after Chelsea lost five of their last six Premier League games and dropped to sixth place, seven points adrift of the Champions League places.
It remains to be seen whether Rossenior will still be in charge when Chelsea land in Hong Kong, as they were also beaten 8-2 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League.
All teams will hold open training sessions before the games, giving Hong Kong fans an extra chance to catch a glimpse of star players such as Manchester City’s Donnarumma, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic.
advertise
The action doesn’t stop there for fans in the football-loving southern Chinese city, as Bayern Munich and Aston Villa have announced that they will play a friendly match in Hong Kong on Friday 7 August.
During last year’s pre-season, 50,000 spectators in Hong Kong watched Liverpool v AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal in the first north London derby outside the UK.
Tens of thousands of people also attended the team’s public training sessions.
DH/TC