Tag: premier-league

West Ham United vs. Newcastle United (English Premier League 2025-26)
I went to three football/soccer matches during my November 2025 trip to London. The 3rd game I went to was between Crystal Palace and AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League, which you can read about here. The match I’ll cover in this post is West Ham vs. Newcastle United at the London Stadium. My previous experience at a West Ham game was their Europa League match vs. Bayer Leverkusen, which you can read about here.
Background

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in London in November of 2025 and looked for matches I could attend while I was there. I was very happy to realize that West Ham would play at home during my trip. Not only that, but they would face Newcastle United, a team that is playing in this year’s Champions League.

Walking to London Stadium

Teams involved

You can read about West Ham in a previous blog post but a new piece of information I’ll mention here is that the team was founded as Thames Ironworks in 1985. Then, in 1900, it was reformed under its current name, West Ham United. This explains why the team is known as the “the Irons” and “the Hammers”. The team’s badge also shows this connection by including two crossed rivet hammers.

London Stadium

Newcastle United competes in the Premier League and is based in the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. The club’s origin can be traced back to 1881 but it adopted its current name in 1892. They play their home games at St James’ Park. Newcastle is a team I’ve known since I was little because of Faustino Asprilla’s time there. He is one of the best strikers Colombia has had and, while his time there was short, it had memorable moments. For example, his hat trick in a Newcastle vs. Barcelona Champions League game.

How I got tickets

You can read about my experience buying West Ham tickets in a previous post. I followed the same process this time and bought my tickets from West Ham’s ticketing site.

How I got to the game

You can read about my experience going to London Stadium from central London in a previous post. The main difference this time is that it was an early afternoon game, so I did not have to worry about missing the last train after the match.

Also, since I got to the stadium much earlier than last time, I had a chance to stop by the club store. I got a jersey while I was there and checked out the different clothing and souvenirs they had. The store was well organized and it was a great stop to make before entering the stadium.

Pre-match warm-up

The game

West Ham vs. Newcastle

This match came with added pressure for West Ham for a few reasons. First, they had not yet won a home game in the Premier League season and found themselves in the low section of the standings. Second, they had only won one game so far under their new coach, Nuno Espirito Santo. Furthermore, they were playing against a team that had a streak of 3 victories, including a 3-0 victory versus Benfica in the Champions League.

First half action

The game did not start well for West Ham, as Newcastle scored after just 4 minutes, through a well placed shot from Jacob Murphy. However, West Ham fought back and had good chances to score, with many of those involving their star player Jarrod Bowen. Then, in the 35th minute Lucas Paqueta unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box to score the first goal for West Ham. Right before the end of the first half, there was a fast attack from West Ham that ended in an own goal scored by Sven Botman after a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

First half action

The 2nd half was very entertaining and both teams had multiple opportunities to score. There was a West Ham goal in the 67th minute (scored by Freddie Potts) that was disallowed due to an offside. The 3rd West Ham goal finally arrived close to the 97th minute through a shot from Jarrod Bowen that was saved by Nick Pope, and then scored by Tomas Soucek. I was happy to see West Ham win the game and had a great time enjoying the action and taking in the experience.

Jarrod Bowen dribbling

London Stadium during the game

Second half action

West Ham’s 3rd goal

Leaving the stadium

Unlike my previous experience at a West Ham game, I did not have to worry about catching the last train back to London. I took my time leaving the stadium, took more pictures, and eventually got back to Stratford station, where I caught an Elizabeth line train back to central London.

Until next time, London Stadium

Conclusion

West Ham is the first English team I saw play in a Europa League match back in 2024 and I was really happy to have the chance to see one of their Premier League games. The match was very entertaining and it was great to see West Ham recover from a poor start to win the game. This time I had a chance to take in more of the game day experience because I got there early and I really enjoyed walking around the stadium and visiting the club store. I will definitely return to London Stadium for more West Ham matches every time I have a chance. If you have the opportunity to go to a West Ham game in the future, try to get there a few hours before the game so you can make the most of the experience.
December 31, 2025
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