History was made on Saturday when Lambeau Field hosted its first ever soccer game. Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the home of the Green Bay Packers in what turned out to be a wild, wet and short affair.
The game was only two 40-minute halves long with a five-minute halftime.
Questions were raised in the days leading up to the match about the field itself. Lambeau Field isn’t big enough to fit FIFA’s regulations, but this friendly didn’t need FIFA’s stamp of approval.
The field ended up being fine, but what wasn’t accounted for was the weather above the field.
Weather delays due to lightning caused several setbacks. The rain was pouring at points in a truly wild affair.
The game was initially delayed before kickoff. Then to the dismay of 78,128 in attendance only 12 minutes were played before another lengthy delay.
Apocalypse Now @LambeauField pic.twitter.com/RU2xjTxaQk
— Tobi Altschäffl (@altobelli13) July 23, 2022
Soccer game at Lambeau Field ⛈️
— Amanda Morgan (@amorganwx) July 23, 2022
From Lambeau Field concourse. pic.twitter.com/2AzFZgg5Ft
— Andrew Hensch (@AndrewHensch) July 24, 2022
This is what a lightning delay looks like at Lambeau Field. pic.twitter.com/Z1R00X092l
— Jack (@architecturejks) July 24, 2022
These fans at Lambeau Field aren’t letting the thunderstorms bring them down. #ManCity #Bayern #Packers pic.twitter.com/l0LcL5wfOB
— Kyle Malzhan (@KyleMalzhan) July 23, 2022
With the teams having to fly back to Europe that same night the decision was made to only play an 80-minute game.
The fans were incredible and held out to watch the two European giants play even if they were robbed of 10 minutes. Not everyone in the stadium got the memo as the final whistle was met with a chorus of enraged boos.
The game was supposed to be a friendly but had several moments where the tensions were raised. Benjamin Pavard nearly sidelining Jack Grealish with a dangerous, high tackle in the second half was one of those moments.
New Bayern signing Sadio Mané wasn’t available for the night as he was in Morocco earlier in the week to accept his award as African Player of the Year.
What a year for Sadio Mane pic.twitter.com/0x6NQWEz8D
— GOAL (@goal) July 22, 2022
The sole goal of the game was a special one as Erling Haaland made his Manchester City debut and scored 12 minutes into the game.
ERLING HAALAND DEBUT GOAL!
Man City 1-0 Bayern Munich pic.twitter.com/LzZiEfkiLU— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 23, 2022
If soccer ever returns to Lambeau Field hopefully the weather plays nice.
