HONG KONG: English and Italian football giants&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/haaland-sends-man-city-top-chelsea-fightback-frustrates-newcastle" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Manchester City</a>, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus will square up for pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong in August, the clubs announced on Tuesday. Pep Guardiola&#39;s Manchester City, currently arm-wrestling Arsenal for the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/arsenal-still-believe-in-title-hopes-despite-city-loss-odegaard" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Premier League</a> title, will take on Inter Milan on Saturday, August 1, spearheaded by their Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland. The match will kick off the &quot;Hong Kong Football Festival&quot; at the city&#39;s futuristic 50,000-seat Kai Tak stadium. The gleaming arena opened a year ago, featuring a roof that can be closed and air-conditioning to combat the fierce summer heat and humidity in Hong Kong. Chelsea will play Juventus on Wednesday August 5 to round off the mini-tournament. Inter, under former Romanian international Cristian Chivu, are eight points clear at the top of Serie A as they look for a 21st title, second only to Juventus who have won a record 36 Italian top-flight championships. Juventus are fourth and looking to secure a Champions League spot under Luciano Spalletti. Chelsea beat PSG to win the Club World Cup in the United States last year but have since parted company with then manager Enzo Maresca. Liam Rosenior took charge but is under pressure to keep his job after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/haaland-sends-man-city-top-chelsea-fightback-frustrates-newcastle" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chelsea</a>&nbsp;lost five of their last six Premier League matches to drop to sixth, seven points adrift of the Champions League places. It remains to be seen whether Rosenior will still be in charge when Chelsea land in Hong Kong as they were also drubbed 8-2 on aggregate by PSG in the Champions League last 16. All the teams will hold open training sessions ahead of the matches giving Hong Kong fans an extra chance to see star players such as City&#39;s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Chelsea&#39;s Cole Palmer, Inter&#39;s Lautaro Martinez and Juventus&#39;s Dusan Vlahovic. The action does not stop there for fans in the football-mad southern Chinese city, as Bayern Munich and Aston Villa have already announced they will play a friendly in Hong Kong on Friday, August 7. During pre-season last year, 50,000 sell-out crowds in Hong Kong watched Liverpool play AC Milan and Tottenham face Arsenal in the first north London derby outside of the UK. Tens of thousands also turned out to watch the teams&#39; open training sessions.

Manchester City supporters cheer at the end of the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on April 19, 2026. (AFP)

Football

Pre-season matches are set for August in Hong Kong at Kai Tak Stadium, where teams will compete in scheduled exhibition matches as part of their Asian summer tours.

Man City, Inter, Chelsea and Juve to face off pre-season in Hong Kong

COMO: Rising star Nico Paz shone again for Como with a goal and assist in Sunday&#39;s landmark 2-0 win over Juventus, which lifted the traditionally tiny club up to sixth place in Serie A.&nbsp;Argentina international Paz set up Marc-Oliver Kempf to sweep home in the fourth minute at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, before making sure of Como&#39;s first win against Juve since 1952 with a wonderful individual goal with 12 minutes remaining.&nbsp;Paz scampered down the right flank before cutting inside Andrea Cambiaso and curling a superb finish past Michele Di Gregorio, a goal which pushed Como above Juve on goal difference.&nbsp;Owned by tobacco giant Djarum and coached by former Spain and Barcelona star Cesc Fabregas, ambitious Como are on 12 points from seven matches, only three behind the division&#39;s leading trio of Inter Milan, Napoli and Roma.&nbsp;That gap to the summit will be increased to four points if fourth-placed AC Milan beat Fiorentina in Sunday&#39;s late match and move into top spot, but regardless Como are flying and it&#39;s largely down to Paz.&nbsp;Paz, 21, was signed from Real Madrid in August last year and after an impressive debut season in Italy he has been a key part of Como&#39;s strong start to this campaign with four goals and as many assists.&nbsp;&quot;He&#39;s a great player, I&#39;m not worried about his future because I can tell when a player is hungry, whether they have the right mentality to become a top player or whether they&#39;re a flash in the pan,&quot; said Fabregas to DAZN.&nbsp;&quot;He can go wherever he wants to go, he just needs to stay humble and keep his work ethic, because the talent and physical presence are there.&quot;

Nico Paz inspired Como’s historic 2-0 win over Juventus with a goal and assist, lifting Cesc Fabregas’ side to sixth in Serie A — their first victory over Juve since 1952 — continuing Paz’s standout season.


Articles tagged with "Juventus"

Man City, Inter, Chelsea and Juve to face off pre-season in Hong Kong

Paz fires high-flying Como to historic win over Juventus

Man City, Inter, Chelsea and Juve to face off pre-season in Hong Kong