Arsenal, Tottenham to Play Pre-season North London Derby in Hong Kong

This photo shows a general view from inside the Kai Tak Sports stadium, a multi-purpose sports venue at the site of the former Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon, on the first day of the 2025 Rugby Sevens Hong Kong tournament on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
This photo shows a general view from inside the Kai Tak Sports stadium, a multi-purpose sports venue at the site of the former Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon, on the first day of the 2025 Rugby Sevens Hong Kong tournament on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
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Arsenal, Tottenham to Play Pre-season North London Derby in Hong Kong

This photo shows a general view from inside the Kai Tak Sports stadium, a multi-purpose sports venue at the site of the former Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon, on the first day of the 2025 Rugby Sevens Hong Kong tournament on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
This photo shows a general view from inside the Kai Tak Sports stadium, a multi-purpose sports venue at the site of the former Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon, on the first day of the 2025 Rugby Sevens Hong Kong tournament on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)

Arsenal will play Tottenham in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong, the first North London derby to be held outside the United Kingdom, the clubs said Monday, while Liverpool will meet AC Milan.

The London rivals will play at the southern Chinese city's new 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium on July 31.

"Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season," AFP quoted Arsenal's managing director Richard Garlick as saying.

Liverpool will play Serie A giants Milan on July 26 at the same stadium.

It will be a replay of the classic 2005 Champions League final, which the Reds won on penalties after being 3-0 down at half-time.

Arne Slot's Liverpool are likely to head to Hong Kong as Premier League champions -- they are currently 12 points clear with nine games left.

Liverpool will also travel to Japan for the first time during pre-season, the club said, without giving dates.

Hong Kong this month officially opened a major $3.85 billion sports park with futuristic Kai Tak Stadium the centerpiece of it.

The stadium saw its first major event at the weekend when it hosted the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens with more than 110,000 spectators attending over three days.

It is all part of efforts to restore the city's image, which took a battering after political protests and a Beijing-imposed national security law.

Visitor numbers to Hong Kong also plummeted during almost three years of strict Covid curbs and have only recently begun to recover.



Messi and Miami Stunned By LAFC In CONCACAF Champions Cup

No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
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Messi and Miami Stunned By LAFC In CONCACAF Champions Cup

No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP

Los Angeles FC sent Lionel Messi and Inter Miami spinning to their first defeat of the season on Wednesday, scoring an upset 1-0 victory in their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final first-leg clash.

A 57th-minute strike from Los Angeles-born El Salvador international Nathan Ordaz handed LAFC a precious advantage heading into next Wednesday's return leg in Florida.

"I think we saw a complete performance," said LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo, whose only complaint was that his team had not managed to win by a more convincing margin.

"If we're honest with ourselves we need to be a little sharper in front of goal. If we get the same types of chances next week in Miami we need to be a little more ruthless."

Miami coach Javier Mascherano had few complaints about his team's defeat, according to AFP.

"Obviously we didn't have the best night tonight but it's only the first leg," Mascherano said.

"We have another game next week. We can do what we need to reach the semi-finals."

Unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since the start of the season, Messi and Miami arrived in Los Angeles as the form team of Major League Soccer.

But after a cagey first half that saw neither side manage to get on top, Los Angeles raised their intensity and began causing problems for the visitors.

LAFC fullback Ryan Hollingshead squandered a golden chance in the 54th minute, blasting well wide after bursting into the penalty area on the overlap.

They made the breakthrough three minutes later with the 21-year-old homegrown striker Ordaz spinning away from former Barcelona and Spain international Sergio Busquets and thumping a low shot into the bottom corner past Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.

Argentine superstar Messi, making his first start since returning as a substitute last weekend following a two-week injury layoff, struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.

Instead it was Los Angeles who looked likeliest to score in front of a raucous home crowd of 22,207 fans at the BMO Stadium that included NBA superstar Stephen Curry, Miami team owner David Beckham and Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni.

US international Aaron Long headed just over from a free-kick in the 63rd minute, and moments later only a desperate goal-line block from Miami defender Maxi Falcon denied LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman.

Falcon had one of Miami's few chances in the second half, glancing a header towards the bottom corner that LAFC's former France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gathered comfortably.

In a sign of mounting Miami frustration, Busquets was booked for a wild challenge on Cengiz Under.

A disappointing night for Messi was summed up by his failure to make the most of a free-kick in a promising position deep into stoppage time, with the Argentine sending his shot whistling well over the bar as LAFC held on for a deserved victory.