Warm welcome in Soldier Field

The return to Chicago's Soldier Field was a sweat-laden affair for the FC Bayern pros. In hot summer temperatures of more than 30 degrees the Bavarians worked out on Tuesday in the late afternoon (local time). It was not the first time that the German record champions worked up a sweat in Chicago: they won 4-2 on penalties in a friendly against Manchester United in July 2004.

About 24 hours later Carlo Ancelotti's troops contest their first friendly on the Audi Summer Tour 2016 as they take on AC Milan in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday at 20.30 local time (Thursday at 3.30 CET). The training session at the stadium with a capacity of 61,500, which is home to NFL outfit Chicago Bears, was a foretaste to the meeting. Even though the number of visitors was restricted to 650 the faithful greeted the FCB pros with applause, celebrating every goal scored during the practice match. The Bavarians thus enjoyed a warm welcome to Soldier Field, and not only because of the temperatures. Arturo Vidal took part in the session, completing the squad programme for the first time since his holiday.