Soccer fans flocked to watch the Man City-Chelsea game at Ohio Stadium

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Manchester City U.S. pre-season tour finally made it to Columbus, and Ohio fans turned out in earnest.

Manchester City went up against fellow premier league giant Chelsea in the final match of its pre-season tour. The European soccer team has played three games here in the U.S. already, including places like New York's Yankee stadium.  

Kick off started at 5:30 p.m., but people were outside Ohio Stadium waiting for the match to begin for much longer. Some fans said they arrived outside the Horseshoe as early as 11 a.m.

Ryan Ramsdell came all the way from Michigan, excited to see some of the best soccer players in the world.   

"You get to see a lot of I think players that you see on TV that you don't ever get to see here in the U.S.” Ramsdell said. “They've got some good players that are going to be showing up. So, I think we're excited to see some of those players that we all get to see."   

The goal of this four-match tour was to give fans a chance to enjoy international clubs throughout the country. Columbus Crew fan Jeff Kaufman said he is a lifelong soccer fan, adding his kids' played soccer from elementary school through high school. The exhilaration of seeing a European team in Columbus was not understated.   

“These are the greatest players in the world and the greatest clubs in the world,” Kaufman said. “So, you get up on Sunday morning to watch these guys and just the athleticism and the skill and how they how they attack. It's just unbelievable. And it's so exciting to see this type of that talent (in) Columbus.”   

Over 70,000 people were in attendance when Manchester City beat Chelsea 4-2. No matter who they were cheering for, fans of all ages said they had an amazing time watching this match.  

“I'm a pretty big soccer fan and it was like, it was really fun to come to this game for my first game,” fan Everett Ashbaugh said. 

The official 2024-2025 Premier League season begins Aug. 16, and the two teams will match up again Aug. 16.