Celtic record 4-1 win over Chelsea in friendly at Notre Dame Stadium

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – A very different kind of football was played at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday as two of the world’s most famous professional sports franchises faced off in a pre-season exhibition game in the House That Rockne Built.

Chelsea are a powerful football club from London, having won six Premier League titles. Meanwhile, Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership a record 10 times, including the last three seasons.

It proved to be an easy victory for Celtic as the reigning Scottish Premiership champions beat the Blues 4-1.

Celtic took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute through a goal from Matt O’Riley and extended their lead to 2-0 through a goal from Kyogo Furuhashi in the 33rd minute.

The score remained 2-0 until Luis Palma extended Celtic’s lead to three in the 76th minute. Celtic made it 4-0 a few minutes later with a score from Michael Johnston.

Chelsea finally found the net in the 89th minute thanks to a Christopher Nkunku penalty, but all it really gave the Blues was preventing a nil-nil victory.

The match was part of a U.S. tour for both clubs, who travel the country for pre-season friendlies. Notre Dame hosted a similar match between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund in 2019.

And for the fans it was a unique experience, many of whom came from far and wide to watch the friendly at the home stadium of the Fighting Irish.

The support did not go unnoticed, as both teams were motivated to perform for their loyal fans.

“A huge thank you to all the Celtic supporters because I was at an event here at the stadium last night and it was packed with Celtic supporters who had travelled from Houston to Melbourne, from all over the world,” Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said. “Celtic is a massive club — an iconic club — but it’s a real little family inside. And that connection with all the supporters, that’s what makes Celtic.”

“What was very important to realise today is the difference between us and them in terms of physical condition,” Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said. “You can see that they have already played three, four official games and they are going to start their official season very soon. Whereas for us you can see that we struggled a little bit physically.”

Celtic, who finish the US tour unbeaten, open the Scottish Premiership season next Saturday against Kilmarnock.

Chelsea, still without a win on their American tour, will face Mexican soccer powerhouse América in Atlanta on Wednesday. The Blues open their Premier League campaign on August 18 against Manchester City.

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