Category: England

Games I have been to in England

Fulham vs. Manchester United (2024-25 English Premier League)
In this post I’ll cover my experience attending a Fulham vs. Manchester United game at Craven Cottage. It was my first time going to a Premier League game there. I had been to a Fulham home game before, but they were in the Championship (2nd division) at the time. This was a much more intense and entertaining game experience than my previous one.
Background

I went to this game during my January 2025 trip to London (I also saw Tottenham play in the Europa League during that trip, which they eventually won by defeating Manchester United in the final!).

I had wanted to return to Craven Cottage for a few years so I checked Fulham’s home games and saw that they would play Manchester United while I was in London. I had never seen Manchester United in a competitive match (I saw them play a friendly against the Seattle Sounders many years ago), so that was an additional incentive for me to get tickets.

Teams involved

Fulham F.C. was founded in 1879 and is the oldest professional football club in London. They have played their home games at Craven Cottage since 1896. Craven Cottage is a classic and beautiful stadium. It is right next to the River Thames, which adds to its allure. Another interesting feature is the fact that one of the stadium corners has an actual cottage. It is not the cottage that gave the stadium its name, but it is still a very cool sight.

The cottage at Craven Cottage

Manchester United is one of the most famous football clubs in the world. It has a rich history with many titles, including thirteen FA Cups and three Champions League titles. Their home stadium is Old Trafford, also known as the “the theatre of dreams”. Many world-renowned players have played for them, including Ryan Giggs, who played for them from 1990 to 2014! I actually got an autograph from Ryan Giggs when Manchester United played the Seattle Sounders in a friendly (he was an assistant coach at the time). My favorite player, Radamel Falcao, also played for them, though his time there was much shorter (only one season).

How I got tickets

Getting tickets for this game involved a similar process to the other games I’ve attended in England. I checked the game schedule and ticket information for Fulham and added a reminder to my calendar to look for tickets at the beginning of the open sale phase. When that day arrived I quickly logged into my Fulham account and got a ticket in the Hammersmith Stand, behind one of the goals. Once I got the purchase confirmation, I had an option to add the ticket to my digital wallet, which I did. That made the process of entering the stadium really easy the day of the game.

How I got to the game

This game took place on Sunday, January 26th 2025. A few hours before the game I went to a Formula 1 exhibition in East London (by the Custom House tube station). From there, I took the Victoria line to Paddington station. From Paddington, I took the District Line to Putney Bridge station, which is in Fulham and not too far from Craven Cottage. As soon as I walked out of the station I saw people selling scarves for the game and a group of Fulham fans heading to the game.

I followed the group and walked along the River Thames and through Bishop’s park. It had rained during the day so there were many puddles on the path but it was a nice walk by the river. It was very exciting to finally see the stadium lights as I approached Craven Cottage.

Craven Cottage at night

I walked around the stadium to check out the surroundings and take in the pre-game ambiance. I also stopped by the team store and it was full of people. I took advantage of the opportunity to buy Fulham’s home jersey.

Craven Cottage

I then made my way into the stadium, which was very quick (I scanned the ticket from my digital wallet) and found my section in the Hammersmith Stand. I was just a few rows behind the goal and used the time before the game to take pictures of the surroundings.

Walking to the Hammersmith Stand

View from section H5 in the Hammersmith Stand

The game

This was a very entertaining football game, with multiple goal scoring opportunities. Fulham had most of the chances in the first half (I don’t think Manchester United had a clear shot on goal), but they were not able to score. In particular, Alex Iwobi had a good first half and a few shots on goal that were handled well by Onana.

Bruno Fernandes and Alex Iwobi

During the half time break Edwin van der Sar was honored by Fulham. He played there from 2001 to 2005.

Edwin van der Sar at Craven Cottage

During the 2nd half, Fulham attacked the goal on my side of the stadium so I had a great view of very good scoring opportunities. It was really fun to jump up with everyone in my section when there were clear scoring opportunities. In the end, it wasn’t Fulham’s night and, though they had many more chances to score, Manchester United won the game with a score of 0-1. The goal came through a long range shot from Lisandro Martinez. The ball hit a Fulham player and took a deflection to keep Leno from making the save. Fulham kept attacking and trying to score after the goal but it never came.

Overall, it was a great experience. It would have been great to see the home team win but I appreciated the fighting attitude from Fulham and the fact that they kept attacking until the final whistle.

Leaving the stadium

I decided to try a different route after the game and walked from Craven Cottage to the Hammersmith tube station. There are also buses you can take from the stadium to that station. Once I got to Hammersmith station, I took the Hammersmith & City line to Euston Square station, which was close to my hotel.

Leaving Craven Cottage

Conclusion

I highly recommend going to a Fulham game. The stadium is beautiful and the energy during the game is palpable. The process of getting to the stadium was very simple and everything was very well organized. Also, from the stadiums I have visited, I am pretty sure Craven Cottage is the oldest and most classic one I have been to. Definitely go to a game there if you have a chance, or at least do a stadium tour (I plan to do that next time I am in London).
July 5, 2025
Tottenham Hotspur vs. IF Elfsborg (Europa League 2024-25)
This post will cover my experience going to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to see Spurs play vs. IF Elfsborg in the Europa League. I have been a Tottenham Hotspur fan since 2011, when I saw them play versus Aston Villa at White Hart Lane. That was the first European football game I ever attended, which was a dream come for me. I will write about my experience about that first game in the future, but for now let’s focus on the game vs. IF Elfsborg.
Background

I had a trip to London in January of 2025 and I hoped to finally catch another Tottenham home game. I checked their home game schedule and saw that they’d play at home against IF Elfsborg in the Europa League. Tottenham is the team I support in the Premier League and I was very excited about the possibility of seeing them play again. Also, I had only seen them play in White Hart Lane and had heard great things about their new stadium.

Teams involved

Tottehnam Hotspur is a team in Tottenham, north London that plays in the English Premier League. Their motto is Audere est facere (Latin for “to dare is to do”). Something I learned as I wrote this blog post is that the team’s name comes from the English knight Sir Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur. He also inspired the team’s emblem, a cockerel.

From 1899 to 2017 they played their home games at White Hart Lane, which I had the opportunity to visit in 2011. Their current home is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 62,850 and is a true state of the art modern football stadium. The stadium is also used to host yearly NFL games in London.

Tottenham qualified to the 2024-25 Europa League by finishing in 5th place in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. IF Elfsborg (Europa League 2024-25)

IF Elfsborg is a Swedish team based in Borås. They play in the Allsvenskan, the top division in Swedish football. Their home stadium is the Borås Arena, which has a seating capacity of 14,500. They qualified to the 2024-25 Europa League after finishing 2nd in the 2023 Allsvenskan and then getting through multiple qualifying rounds to reach the league phase of the tournament.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. IF Elfsborg (Europa League 2024-25)

How I got tickets

Once I confirmed that I’d be in London on the day of the match, I checked the sale phase dates on the ticketing website. The best way to improve your chances of getting tickets is to get a One Hotspur Membership, which gives you early access to purchase tickets. In fact, from what I’ve seen, you have to have a membership to buy tickets to home Premier League games. However, this particular Europa League match had an open sale phase for non-members. Since I don’t have a membership, I decided to wait until then. I added a reminder to my calendar and, when the open sale phase began, I signed in to my Tottenham Hotspur account and looked for a ticket. I found one in section Block 110 Row 26, which turned out to be an excellent seat, not too far from the pitch. However, given how amazing that stadium is, I don’t think you can find a seat that does not give you a great view of the action.

A few days before the game I got an email from the ticketing office with a link to add the ticket to my digital wallet. I could also find the ticket when I logged into the official Spurs app. By the way, the app is really nice. It has information about past and future Spurs matches and there’s even a section for “ticket memories”, where you can see information about the games you’ve attended.

How I got to the game

During this trip to London I stayed at a hotel near London St. Pancras station and Kings Cross station. To get to the stadium I walked to the Euston tube station. From there, I took the Victoria line to the Seven Sisters station. My original plan was to take the London Overground from Seven Sisters to White Hart Lane. However, I had to make a change of plans because the Overground train was delayed due to overcrowding and there was no specific ETA. I did not want to miss the beginning of the game so I left the station and started walking quickly on High Road toward the stadium. There were buses I thought about catching but they were all full with people going to the game, so I just kept walking until I arrived.

Walking to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

I got there with enough time to visit the team store. It was really impressive, with lots of space and even an area for pre-game announcements. I got myself a new jersey, some presents for the family, and then made my way to the stadium entrance.

I went through the first checkpoint and then through the turnstiles to enter the stadium. At the turnstile I used my digital wallet to scan the ticket.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Once I got to my seat I had a “wow moment”. The view of the pitch was amazing and the stadium architecture was impressive.

Pre-game warm-up

It was also really cool to see Peter Crouch as commentator at the game!

Peter Crouch!

The game

It was an entertaining match to watch but the goals did not arrive until the 2nd half. Tottenham had good chances to score throughout the game and Son was a constant threat during the first half. It was great to finally see him play in person.

Throughout the game the Elfsborg fans made their presence felt. They were loud throughout and even before the game (I saw many of their fans walking around the Kings Cross station area). Elfsborg also had chances to score, but I felt pretty confident that Spurs would win in the end.

Preparing to take a free kick

Game action

Scoring opportunity during the 1st half

The game victory was delivered by three Spurs academy graduates: Dane Scarlett in the 70th minute, Damola Ajayi in the 84th minute, and Mikey Moore in the 94th minute. I really enjoyed the game, the experience at the stadium, and the jersey and souvenirs I got at the team store. Of course, the best part was seeing Tottenham win the game.

Leaving the stadium

To leave the game I decided to do another fast walk back to Seven Sisters tube station. You can take different buses that will take you to the stadium but I concluded that it’d be easier to just walk. There were many others who did the same.

Conclusion

I had a wonderful experience at the game. I finally got to see a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it did not disappoint. Getting to and leaving the stadium was easy, even with the unexpected change of plans. The team store was really nice, accessing the stadium was fast and simple with the digital ticket, and the game was very entertaining. I’ll definitely look for more opportunities to see Tottenham play at home. I highly recommend you go to a game there if you have the opportunity. COYS!
May 3, 2025
Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City (EFL League One 2023-24)
This post will cover my experience going to a Leyton Orient game in April of 2024. This was my first time going to a Leyton Orient game and also the first EFL League One match I went to. I enjoyed that experience so much that I have since gone to another Leyton Orient game. I’ll publish another blog post about that game soon.
Background

I went to this game during the April 2024 European trip that I used to also see Lazio vs. Salernitana and West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen. London was going to be the first city my family would visit on that trip and, as always, I checked the games calendar to see if there were any matches I could catch. There weren’t any Premier League games I could go to this time but a wonderful characteristic of London is that it is the home of many football clubs, not only in the Premier League but also in the EFL Championship (2nd division), and in the EFL League One (3rd division).

I did some research and learned that there would be a match between Leyton Orient and Exeter City on a Tuesday evening while I was in London, so I decided to get tickets for my dad and I.

Teams involved

Leyton Orient F.C. is a club based in Leyton, a town in East London. Their home stadium is Brisbane Road (Gaughan Group Stadium) and they have competed in the EFL League One since the 2023-24 season. They returned to League One after 8 years of absence. Many football fans around the world recently learned more about Leyton Orient because they played Manchester City in the 4th round of the FA Cup and came very close to advancing to the next round.

Exeter City F.C. is a club based in Exeter, South West England. They returned to League One in the 2022-23 season.

Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City – Before the match

How I got tickets

I went to Leyton Orient’s ticketing website, clicked on the game I wanted to attend, and I could then choose from the available seats. Before completing the purchase I had to create an account. Since then, the account has become an OneOrient account, which can be used to purchase tickets, team merchandise, etc.

Before I chose a seat, I did some research on the different stands. I wanted to have a good view of the game and also wanted to sit with the home fans. I decided to purchase a ticket in the Justin Edinburgh Stand, which is named in honor of Justin Edinburgh, who was Leyton Orient’s head coach when he passed away in 2019.

Buying the tickets was really simple and I had the option of printing paper versions or adding them to a digital wallet. I printed physical copies of the tickets for that game.

How I got to the game

During that trip my family and I stayed near Paddington Station. My dad and I took the London Underground’s Central Line to the Layton station. From there we walked for about 10 minutes on High Road and took a left once we got to the Coronation Gardens. As we approached the stadium we saw a statue in honor of Laurie Cunningham, an English footballer who began his professional career at Leyton Orient and became the first English player to join Real Madrid.

Once we got to the stadium, we were checked by security, then got our tickets scanned, and went through the turnstiles. We got there about 30 minutes before kick off and had time to take pictures, enjoy the pre-game atmosphere, and find our seats. The stadium has a classic look, which was also very cool for us to see and experience.

The game

The match was very entertaining with both teams playing attacking football. The game even featured an Olympic goal (a goal scored from a corner kick without touching any players). Leyton Orient led the game with a 2-0 score until the 88th minute. Then Exeter City managed to tie the game in stoppage time.

Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City

Overall my dad and I had a great experience at the game. Both teams played entertaining football and the fans at the stadium supported their teams throughout the game (there was a sizable contingent of Exeter City fans too!).

Our view at the game

You can watch the game highlights below.

The local fans were very welcoming and we celebrated the Leyton Orient goals with the people seated next to us. It was such a great experience that I have since gone to another Leyton Orient game (in January 2025). I’ll write a post about that game soon.

Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City

Leaving the stadium

We left the stadium and walked back to the Leyton tube station. From there we took the Central line back to central London. Getting back to where we were staying was very easy.

Conclusion

Leyton Orient is a great team to see in London if you have the opportunity to do it. They have great fans, a very cool stadium, and it’s easy to get there with London’s Underground. This was my first Leyton Orient game and I plan to go to more in the future!
April 12, 2025
West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Back in April of 2024 I had the opportunity to go to the London Stadium to see West Ham play Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023-2024 Europa League season.
Background

I went to Europe with my family and, whenever I go to Europe, I look for opportunities to see live football games. This time I broke a personal record because, instead of going to my usual one game per trip, or maybe two games per trip, we managed to go to three games (two in England and one in Italy). I’ll write reports for those games too and will add links here soon.

This was both my first time going to a West Ham game at London Stadium and my first time going to a Europa League game. I have been to many football games in Europe before but this was the first time the game was not part of a national league. Something that made this game extra special was the fact that it featured Bayer Leverkusen. Up to that point they were undefeated in all competitions and were the team to beat in Europe. They were at the top of the Bundesliga and seemed unstoppable, which made the match vs. West Ham even more interesting. It was a really great experience and, best of all, I got to share it with my dad who is also a passionate football fan.

London Stadium during the West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen Europa League game!

Teams involved

West Ham competes in the English Premier League and is based in East London, specifically in Stratford. They play their home games at the London Stadium, an impressive stadium that was built for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Bayer Leverkusen competes in the German Bundesliga and is based in Leverkusen. They play their home games at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen fans at the London Stadium

How I got tickets

I checked game calendars during the days I was going to be in London and I realized that West Ham would play Bayer Leverkusen on the last night of my trip, April 18th 2024. I checked the West Ham tickets website and realized that the tickets would not go on general sale for a few more weeks. I added a reminder on my calendar to wake up at 3:45 am US Pacific time so I could try to get tickets (the tickets were going on sale at 4 am my time). I knew that I would need to be ready and move as quickly as possible because the tickets were likely to sell out in minutes.

Well, as soon as the sales window opened I logged in and started to look for tickets. I found two that were not too expensive and were at a good location in the stadium. I tried to add them to my shopping cart and boom, I saw a notification that the tickets were no longer available. I tried again with two different tickets in another location and again, the same thing happened. I started to get a little concerned that I could miss out on getting tickets because there were not too many left. I then realized that most of the available tickets were on the East side of the stadium. There were a few on the West side and I decided to give that area a try. Fortunately that worked and I was able to buy two tickets for the game, one for myself and another one for my dad. We got tickets on block 210, row 71.

How I got to the game

Getting to the game was a very rushed experience for my dad and I because we arrived from Italy a few hours before the game. To get to the game as quickly as possible, we took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. We booked those tickets in advance at the Heathrow Express website. Then we took the Elizabeth line from Paddington to Stratford and used our Oyster cards. We ran through the commercial area there so we didn’t get a chance to look around, but it looked like an area worth exploring (lots of restaurants, stores, etc.). We could hear the loud sound of the fans coming from the stadium as we ran there.

The game

The game did not have the outcome my dad and I (and most of the stadium) were hoping for, which was a West Ham victory. Nevertheless, it was a very very entertaining match. West Ham had a chance to qualify to the next phase of the Europa League but things didn’t work out, even though they were leading the game at the end of the first half.

Both the local and visiting fans were chanting and loud throughout the game and that created an amazing atmosphere at the stadium. We had pretty good seats and had a clear view of the action.

You can also see highlights of the game below:

Leaving the stadium

At the end of the game we followed the crowd towards the exit. It took over an hour to get back to the station because there were so many people (it was a sold out game). The part we had not taken into account was the fact that, given the time the game ended, we had only about 1 hour to catch a train back to Heathrow. We had purchased tickets to return on the Heathrow Express but by the time we got to Stratford there was no way we were going to make it to Paddington Station in time to catch the last train of the day. We asked one of the London Transport employees and she suggested taking the train to a station where we could take a Picaddilly line train back to the airport. We got on a Central line train and got off at Holborn, where we ran to catch what may have been the last train going to the airport that night (there was a group of people running along with us). Since we were staying at Terminal 4, that complicated things a bit because the Picaddilly line does not go there. We got off the train at Hatton Cross station and took a bus to Terminal 4.

Conclusion

Overall my dad and I had a great experience at the game. It was very especial for us to not only get a chance to attend a Europa League match, but also one that had so much significance in Europe at the time (Bayer Leverkusen was still unbeaten at that point in the European season and West Ham had a strong team and a good chance to beat them). In the end, West Ham lost, but the game was hard fought and entertaining to watch. Also, getting to the game was very convenient with the Tube and the London Stadium is impressive. The architecture is very different from other stadiums I have been to, the ambience was amazing and the seats we got were great. Leaving the game was a bit stressful because we were not sure if we were going to be able to take public transport back to our hotel at the airport, but it all worked out in the end.

I am looking forward to going to more West Ham games in the future. If you visit London in the future, definitely check the game schedule in case you have a chance to go to one of their games.
April 1, 2025