Pre-season analysis: Elliott stars, mixed night for Rashford

Premier League clubs' preparations for the 2024/25 season continued, with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers all in action.

Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal

What happened?
Liverpool made it two wins out of two on their US tour as goals from Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho gave them a narrow win against Arsenal, who pulled one back through Kai Havertz. See: Liverpool report | Arsenal report

What did we learn?
Harvey Elliott produced an eye-catching performance, providing assists for both goals, with his second a superb chip over the top of the Arsenal defence for Liverpool's second goal.

As for Arsenal, Havertz returned to the No 8 role that he took up for much of the first half of last season, before he excelled as a No 9 during the second half of the campaign. Gabriel Jesus kept his place as the Gunners' centre-forward.

What did the managers say?
Arne Slot: "He [Elliott] had two great assists, but what I believe is that the team created these assists for him as well. Playing out from the back, getting him in the right positions – or another No 10. If I am a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could have done better."

Mikel Arteta: "We are in good condition. Today was a really strong test. After six or seven minutes we should be 2-0 up. Then we lost control, especially with two things that we didn't do well enough and we allowed them to run in transition, which is a really dangerous thing to do against them."

Who do they play next?
Liverpool travel to South Carolina to face Man Utd on 4 August, while Arsenal are next in action on 7 August at home to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. 

Man Utd 3-2 Real Betis

What happened?
Man Utd produced a more dominant display than the scoreline suggested, coming from behind to beat LaLiga's Real Betis thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Amad and Casemiro. See: Man Utd report

What did we learn?
Rashford and Amad took centre stage, with the former scoring and supplying an assist while the latter produced a fine left-footed strike to score. However, there was cause for concern for Rashford, who was forced off the pitch after hurting his ankle in the second half, while Antony was also forced off with a suspected injury.

What did the manager say?
Erik ten Hag: "Yes, he [Amad] is performing well and [he is having] a good pre-season so far. You could see absolutely he is making an uplift in his game. Also in the defending part with the counter-press but also with the pressing he is doing really well. So I am really pleased with his performance."

Who do they play next?
Man Utd face Liverpool on 4 August in South Carolina.

Chelsea 3-0 Club America

What happened?
Enzo Marseca earned his first win as Chelsea head coach after his side comfortably beat Club America. Christopher Nkunku scored for a third consecutive match while Marc Guiu netted his first goal for the club. Noni Madueke also converted a spot-kick in the second half. See: Chelsea report

What did we learn?
Nkunku has started pre-season in excellent form. Not only did he score another penalty, he also earned Chelsea their second spot-kick following a superb dribble.

Nkunku's penalty

Nkunku's dribble for Chelsea's second penalty

What did the manager say?
Maresca: "I loved him [Nkunku] before I joined this club. In the way we want to play, he is the ideal player. He can play in the pocket, in the nine, on the wing. At this moment we are using him in the pocket and he is doing very well."

Who do they play next?
Chelsea's focus will now turn to Manchester City, who they play on 3 August in Columbus.

Crystal Palace 3-1 Wolves

What happened?
Palace continued their free-scoring form, putting three excellent goals past Wolves in Annapolis. One of the strikes was a 40-yard effort from Jeffrey Schlupp while Jordan Ayew and Asher Agbinone were also on the scoresheet for the Eagles. Santiago Bueno scored Wolves' goal. See: Palace report | Wolves report

Watch Schlupp's stunner

What did we learn?
Head coach Oliver Glasner was able to use six academy graduates in the second half as Palace put on another superb performance in pre-season.

Gary O'Neil used a different side to the one that beat West Ham United in Wolves' previous friendly, handing valuable minutes to his squad.

What did the managers say?
Glasner: "We struggled in some situations, we can see what we have to improve, but we can also see a lot of positive things. We are always able to score goals, we can create chances. We were playing with a lot of energy and that is what I really enjoyed today."

O'Neil: "I thought we looked like a good side for a lot of it. I thought we looked threatening. We had good control against a difficult side, in a difficult shape to play against. The boys who played today were not the ones who started against West Ham, so it was good for them to get some good minutes in the legs."

Who do they play next?
Palace's next match is on 3 August, when they take on West Ham United in Florida. Wolves, meanwhile, travel to Miami to face RB Leipzig on 4 August.

RB Leipzig 2-0 Aston Villa

What happened?
Villa suffered a second consecutive defeat in pre-season, falling to RB Leipzig, with goals from Andre Silva and Lois Openda giving the German side the victory in New Jersey. Unai Emery's side also played the second half with 10 men after Diego Carlos was shown a second yellow card shortly after Openda's goal just before half-time. See: Villa report

What did we learn?
Captain John McGinn started for the first time in pre-season, while summer signing Amadou Onana was named from the start. Jacob Ramsey also made his first appearance since March.

What did the manager say?
Emery: "Onana is progressively getting better. He’s playing trying to quickly understand our tactical idea and he played some minutes at centre-back. Of course he is a player for us to play as a midfielder, but he’s competitive and his adaptation is going really well."

Who do they play next?
Villa's US tour continues in Chicago, where they face Club America on 3 August.