By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

As you turned the corner at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, the normal chants of “Go Heels”were replaced with renditions of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and cheers of “Hail, Hail.” Chapel Hill morphed into an odd amalgamation of Ethiad Stadium Celtic Park. The town hosted Premier League powerhouse Manchester City and 54-time Scottish Premiership champion Celtic FC as part of the FC Series, which offers international friendlies as part of the soccer preseason.

Storefronts and restaurants shifting on Franklin Street to welcome fans traveling from all over, including a Manchester City pop-up shop on the corner of West Franklin and Church Street. Inside of it you’ll find plenty of gear and posters pointing to the team’s four-straight seasons finishing at the top of the Premier League standings. Outside of it, Man City fans stop and debate going inside, like North Carolina native Justin Ness.

“It’s extremely exciting,” Ness said of having his favorite team play a match at the home of his other favorite team (UNC). “I’m glad that they got to bring some of their actual team players, (Erling) Haaland, (Jack) Grealish, people are actually going to be here, it’s not just a B team, it’s not somebody that nobody cares about, so it’s very exciting that you actually get to see the team play.”

Ness has been following Man City in earnest for the past five years. To say he’s enjoyed the rise of the footballer going into his third year with the club is a bit of an understatement.

“I mean, the best player in the world right now, it’s pretty exciting that he’s going to be here in Kenan Memorial Stadium in the middle of North Carolina, it’s not something that you really get to see unless you’re traveling abroad,” Ness said.

The 24-year-old Norweigan striker broke the record for most goals scored in a season his first year in the Premier League.

It’s the second-ever international match at Kenan Stadium. Last July, Chelsea defeated Wrexham 5-0  in front of a sold-out crowd of 50,596. Proceeds from the match benefit UNC Children’s Hospital. Last year, the University says $150,000 was donated. Last year, the match was estimated to bring in $15 million to the surrounding areas. This year, the crowds weren’t as large, but representatives from the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau still estimate about a $10 million boost to the Triangle during what is normally a slow tourist month.

On the opposite side of the pitch is Celtic FC. While Manchester City might be the larger product on the world stage, this group of champions from Glasgow, Scotland aren’t to be trifled with. They’re one of only a handful of clubs to win more than 100 trophies. They’ve won Scottish football championships, in all of its forms, 54 times which is second only to its arch-rival the Rangers. They even call their stadium, Celtic Park, Paradise. Muray McArthur, a 19-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina has been there before with his family. The whole group are die hard supporters of Celtic FC.

“I was just born into a Celtic family, we have little baby Celtic kits,” McArthur laughed.

He wasn’t concerned about the blue kits playing for the Premier League. The green and white stripes of the Celtic is all that can catch his eye.

“This is a dream come true, honestly. Yesterday we saw the training, I got a signature from almost all the players,” McArthur said.

McArthur and the Celtic faithful were rewarded: Celtic FC finished on top of Manchester City in the friendly, final score 4-3. Oscar Bobb, Maximo Perrone and Erling Haaland all scored for the Man City side, while Nicolar-Gerrit Kuhn finished with a brace and Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma added two more.

Source: wralsportsfan.com