Pre-season analysis: Slot starts with victory as Spurs win too

Premier League clubs' preparations for the 2024/25 season continued, with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Southampton all registering wins on Saturday. 

Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis

What happened?
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal as Liverpool started the Arne Slot era with a win. See: Liverpool report

What did we learn?
Without a senior striker available, Slot played an experimental 4-2-4, with Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott alternating as No 10s. It seemed to suit Szoboszlai, who scored from Mohamed Salah's pass towards the end of the first half. There was concern over Curtis Jones, who went off injured in the first half, but his replacement 17-year-old Trey Nyoni impressed his head coach..

What did the manager say?
Arne Slot: "I think during the season you will see us play with a real striker. But at this moment we have no-one available and then with Dom and Harvey we've got two No.10s, so we put them in the position they will play during the season as well. So that was one of the reasons why we played with a double 10 instead of with a striker."

Who do they play next?
Liverpool continue their US tour against Arsenal on 1 August.

Vissel Kobe 2-3 Spurs

What happened?
A late Mikey Moore goal secured victory in Tokyo. Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min also got on the scoresheet. See: Spurs report | Highlights

What did we learn?
The 16-year-old Moore has been very influential off the bench in pre-season, scoring twice and assisting once in three fixtures. All three Spurs goals came from well-worked moves, which will encourage Ange Postecoglou. 

What did the manager say?
Postecoglou: "I was pleased with the way we went about things tonight, it wasn't easy. [Moore] should've scored three. All the young boys who came on in the second half did well."

Who do they play next?
Spurs fly to South Korea, where they will play the K-League Stars on 31 July in Seoul.

Crawley 3-6 Crystal Palace

What happened?
A first-half masterclass from Oliver Glasner's side secured a comfortable victory over the League One side. Odsonne Edouard, Daichi Kamada and Jesuran Rak-Sakyi scored in the opening 45, with the latter getting a brace, before Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp finished the job in the second period. See: Palace report

What did we learn?
Rak-Sakyi made it three goals in two pre-season matches, after also scoring in the 1-1 draw against Charlton Athletic. New signing Kamada scored his first goal for the Eagles as he continues to play in a more advanced role under Glasner.

Who do they play next?
Palace travel to the United States to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on 31 July in Maryland.

Southampton 3-1 Montpellier

What happened?
Southampton won their third pre-season match in a row. Kamaldeen Sulemana, Tyler Dibling, and Taylor Harwood-Bellis were all on the scoresheet while Saints also missed two penalties. See: Saints report

What did we learn?
New defender Yukinari Sugawara could be a player to keep an eye on. The 24-year-old Japanese defender assisted Harwood-Bellis in this match after scoring in Saints' win over Eastleigh. 

Watch Harwood-Bellis's goal

In his last two league seasons at AZ Alkmaar, Sugawara registered 22 direct goal contributions.

What did the manager say?
Russell Martin: "It was a competitive game, it was aggressive, a step up in opposition, and I think the guys coped with it really, really well. We are winning whilst getting better, progressing and under big fatigue, so it’s a nice habit – the boys want to win. They want to win in training, they want to win in pre-season."

Who do they play next?
Saints are at Oxford United on 31 July.

Hull City 0-2 Newcastle

What happened?
Newcastle's first official pre-season friendly ended with a comfortable victory over the Championship side, thanks to first-half goals from Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy. See: Newcastle report

Watch Newcastle's goals

What did we learn?
Isak, Newcastle's top scorer last season, picked up where he left off with an early strike, while Nick Pope impressed in goal in the first half. Tino Livramento and Jamal Lewis were also the preferred options at full-back, while Lewis Hall played in midfield. New signing Lloyd Kelly was not fit to feature. 

What did the manager say?
Eddie Howe: “It was a good game, a tough game. [Hull] are slightly ahead of us physically, very different team tactically to most you see - a lot of interesting things from them and it took us probably 10 minutes to get to grips with it.”

Who do they play next?
Newcastle will travel to Japan for their next game, playing Urawa Reds on 31 July.

Salford 2-1 Everton

What happened?
Everton are still awaiting a first pre-season win after a defeat at Salford. James Garner's free-kick gave the Toffees the lead but they failed to hold on against the League Two side. See: Everton report

What did we learn?
Despite scoring only, and from a set-piece, Sean Dyche saw his side create a lot of chances with a two-striker set-up instead of the 4-3-3 of last season. Beto replaced Neal Maupay in the starting XI alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but as last season, chances were not converted.

What did the manager say?
Dyche said his side are nursing a few knocks, including summer signing Illiman Ndiaye and midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye, but added he hopes they will return soon. See: Dyche reaction

Who do they play next?
The Toffees travel to Coventry City on 30 July.

Ipswich 1-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf

What happened?
Ipswich's second pre-season fixture ended in defeat with Marcus Harness's 49th-minute equaliser not enough at Portman Road. See: Ipswich report

What did we learn?
New signing Arijanet Muric started in goal, making one good save, before being replaced by Christian Walton, Ipswich's No 1 last season, at half-time. 

Who do they play next?
Ipswich play Borussia Monchengladbach on 2 August in Germany.

Fulham 6-1 Watford

What happened?
Fulham enjoyed a second convincing win in their second fixture behind closed doors against a Championship side in three days. After beating QPR 4-0, this time goals from Sasa Lukic, Rodrigo Muniz, Alex Iwobi, Raul Jimenez, Jay Stansfield and Adrion Pajaziti earned the emphatic win at the training ground. See: Fulham report

What did we learn?
Lukic opened the scoring from the spot as he is set to play a more important role in defensive midfield after the sale of Joao Palhinha, while Jimenez scored for the second match in a row.  

Who do they play next?
Fulham now head to Portugal where they play Benfica on 2 August.