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Photo: @sebastian1906 via Flickr (under license CC BY 2.0)
Photo: @sebastian1906 via Flickr (under license CC BY 2.0)

Crystal Palace will visit Union for the second time

For the second time, the Philadelphia Union will host English Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C. for an international friendly in Chester.

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For the second time, the Philadelphia Union will host English Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C. for an international friendly in Chester. The game will mark the seventh time the Union have faced a team from English soccer’s top tier on their home turf.

The South London-based team will visit Talen Energy Stadium on July 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets will go on sale May 23.

Crystal Palace had a low-ranking premier league season having earned enough points to get them 15th place on the table. Regardless, they have done well in this year’s FA Cup tournament in England. They will face Manchester United on May 21 for the final in the association-wide competition.

The last time Crystal Palace visited the Union was in 2014 where they defeated the home team 1-0.

[The Union have also hosted teams like Manchester United and Real Madrid throughout their history. You can see some AL DÍA News file photos of those games at the end of the post.]

“It’s an incredible opportunity for our team, and our fans, to host a club that is currently competing for an English Championship,” said Tim McDermott, chief business officer of the Philadelphia Union in a press release. “We wish them the best of luck this weekend and look forward to welcoming them to Philadelphia.”

Along with their visit to Talen Energy Stadium, Crystal Palace will play in Cincinnati (against USL team FC Cincinnati) and in Vancouver (against Whitecaps FC).

“It’s always a good opportunity to challenge yourselves against the best competition,” said Jim Curtin, Union head coach in a press release. “Crystal Palace is a team we respect, their success this year speaks for itself, and they have a great collection of high-quality players who are obviously competing in the best league in the world. We’ll really value the experience and look forward to hosting [Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew] and his team.”  

On their first team squad, Crystal Palace boasts a roster of experienced players like French national Yohan Cabaye, South Korea's Lee Chung-yong and Australia's Mile Jedinak. All of them represented their respective countries at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

While an official game roster won’t be released for a while, it is exciting to have the possibility of seeing international talent in the region, especially after Philly gets a taste when the Copa America Centenario comes to town in June.

“It’s a trip that I think will be good for the club, it’s our fourth year in the Premier League, teams want to play us and we’ve taken this opportunity to go to America to spread the word of the type of football we play,” Pardew said. “Our fan base continues to grow in America and this is a perfect opportunity to reach out to those fans as well as introduce ourselves to many more new fans stateside.”

 

Manchester United played the Philadelphia Union in 2010. (AL DÍA News file photo)
 

Manchester United played the Philadelphia Union in 2010. (AL DÍA News file photo)
 

Real Madrid played Philadelphia Union in 2011 (AL DÍA News file photo)
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