Celtic cruises to 4-1 victory over Chelsea in friendly at Notre Dame Stadium

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – A different type 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 preseason friendly in the House that Rockne Built.

Chelsea is a powerhouse soccer club from London, having won six Premier League titles. Meanwhile, Celtic has won the Scottish Premiership a record 10 times, including the past three seasons.

It proved to be an easy win for Celtic, as the defending Scottish Premiership champions cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Blues.

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

The score remained 2-0 until Luis Palma stretched Celtic’s lead to three in the 76th minute. Celtic made it 4-0 just a couple of minutes later on a score from Michael Johnston.

Chelsea finally found the back of the net in the 89th minute courtesy of a penalty kick from Christopher Nkunku, but all it really did for the Blues was help them avoid a shutout.

The match was part of a U.S. tour for both clubs as they travel across the country for preseason exhibition games. Notre Dame hosted a similar match in 2019 between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.

And it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the fans, many of whom traveled far and wide to attend the friendly match at the home of the Fighting Irish.

The support did not go unnoticed, as both teams were motivated to perform for their dedicated fan bases.

“Huge thank you to all Celtic supporters because I was at an event here in the stadium last night and it was filled with Celtic supporters who traveled from Houston to Melbourne, all over the world,” said Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. “Celtic is a huge club — an iconic club — but it really is a small family on the inside. And that connection with all the supporters, that’s what makes Celtic.”

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

Celtic, which finishes its U.S. tour undefeated, begins the Scottish Premiership season next Saturday against Kilmarnock.

Chelsea, which remains winless on its U.S. tour, will next face Mexican soccer powerhouse América on Wednesday in Atlanta. The Blues begin their Premier League season on Aug. 18 against Manchester City.

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