Related items

• Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis: Szoboszlai gets Slot era up and running

  Dominik Szoboszlai's goal was the difference as Arne Slot's first game in charge of Liverpool with spectators present ended in a 1-0 win over Real Betis in Pittsburgh.

  Liverpool lost 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors meeting with Preston North End last week, but they were victors in sweltering conditions when their pre-season tour of the United States got under way on Friday.

  Szoboszlai scored the only goal after 34 minutes, stroking his finish past Adrian after Mohamed Salah slipped a pass through to the Hungary international.

  That goal came four minutes after Curtis Jones was forced off through injury, being replaced by 17-year-old Trey Nyoni.

  Former Reds goalkeeper Adrian denied Conor Bradley as a strong Liverpool side chased a second, while Harvey Elliott nodded wide from a Kostas Tsimikas cross.

  After Slot rang the changes with 63 minutes gone, Kaide Gordon missed Liverpool's best chance to make it 2-0 by dragging his effort wide, but it did not matter as a controlled performance saw the Reds home.

  Data Debrief: Reds in cruise control

  Slot had been expected to bring a slightly more measured approach than the "heavy metal football" preached by his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, and that was on full display on Friday as Betis were held at arm's length.

  Liverpool enjoyed 62.7% of the possession throughout the match, though Slot will be looking for more penetration when they face Arsenal in the next game of their tour on Wednesday, having only recorded 12 touches in the penalty area to Betis' 10. 

• Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea

  Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.

  The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.

  The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.

  Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.

  The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.

  "The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.

  "I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.

  "I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.

  "He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."

  Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.

  Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.

  The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.

  "We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.

  "That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.

  "Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.

  "I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."

• Slot's Liverpool success will be measured by trophies, says McAllister

  Gary McAllister says Arne Slot must be prepared to aim high by targeting trophies if he is to be successful with Liverpool.

  The Dutchman is set to begin his first season in charge of the Reds after being appointed as Jurgen Klopp's successor in May.

  Liverpool enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under the German, winning their first-ever Premier League title, as well as a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a Super Cup, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups.

  However, Slot was no stranger to success while at Feyenoord, leading the team to the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 before lifting the KNVB Cup in April during his final season with the club.

  McAllister, who won five trophies in the two years he spent at Liverpool, says Slot's success will be determined by the silverware he collects.

  "Liverpool is a club that's synonymous with winning, and when you don't win you fail," McAllister told Stats Perform.

  "When there's a new management team, you're given a little bit more time, but the facts are Liverpool's target, I felt, and as a player that played against them for most of his career, the targets that Liverpool set, you go into every tournament looking to win it.

  "You try to win every game and that's the expectation of the club and that's what makes it a very special club."

  Klopp spent nine years at Liverpool, breaking club records as his team pushed for trophies on a regular basis.

  The Reds enjoyed a club-record 68-match unbeaten run at Anfield over nearly four years in the Premier League between April 2017 and January 2021.

  Klopp also oversaw three of the four most prolific seasons in Liverpool's history, including the club-record total of 147 goals scored in 2021-22.

  Slot has admitted he has "big shoes to fill", but McAllister believes the 45-year-old will be able to live up to the high expectations left behind by Klopp.

  "Arne arriving at the club, following Klopp, realising that it's such a difficult job anyway, but to follow somebody who's done particularly well at the club over an eight, nine-year period is going to be tough, and I don't think the new manager is under any illusions," he added.

  "What I would say is he's a man that seems to be a very strong character, good personality, and he's just got to come in and be his own man and trust what he does.

  "He's done very well in his previous managerial career and coming to Liverpool I feel is a natural progression in the levels of the game that he's worked at.

  "So, everybody at the club will be deeply backing him and be right behind him, he'll have amazing support."

  Liverpool's first pre-season game under Slot ended in a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End last week before the players flew out to the United States for a three-game tour.

  They are also only one of two Premier League clubs yet to conduct any business in the transfer window so far, but McAllister urged fans to be patient with Slot while he gets settled in his new role.

  "Whenever there's a change at a club, I think the fans have got to realise that it does take time for a new manager, a new coaching group to come in and get their ideas over to the players," he said.

  "There's got to be a modicum of patience, but at Liverpool, expectation levels are very, very high and sometimes, in professional soccer, in elite soccer, patience is something that most managers don't get.

  "As much as the fans have got to be aware that everything is new and there are new ideas, Arne and the players will want to get off to a quick start.

  "I feel that this pre-season tour is going to help them start the season against Ipswich Town very strongly. I feel the games that they've got here in the US, here in Pittsburgh against Betis, and then we go to play Arsenal and Manchester United, the build-up is pretty good."