2-1 was Liverpool’s victory over Arsenal in their USA preseason trip.
In their preseason triumph over Arsenal, Liverpool’s second half performance delighted Arne Slot more than the first.
As part of the team’s USA tour, the Reds overcame their Premier League opponents 2-1 in Philadelphia. Liverpool took the lead through goals from Mo Salah and Fabio Carvalho in the 13th and 34th minutes, respectively.
Kai Havetz’s goal five minutes before halftime gave Arsenal a chance to retake the lead. The second half was a classic friendly, with Liverpool making a ton of substitutions while the Gunners had far more possession of the ball and few opportunities.
Slot was pleased with many aspects of Liverpool’s performance, particularly their ability to withstand pressure, but he was disappointed in the way they gave up. “Maybe the second half where we had a lot of problems with Arsenal because they were constantly all over us, but we defended really strong, kept them away,” the Anfield head coach responded in an interview with LFCTV when asked what pleased him most about the game. They didn’t seem to have many opportunities. That was a wonderful thing because, although there will always be tough moments in a game, the defense in front of goal was excellent if you battle like this and have a lot of bodies behind the ball.
“After the first ten minutes, we were all enjoying the first half. It was acceptable to witness us generate so many opportunities against such a formidable foe as Arsenal. To be honest, during the first half, they had a few. We played pretty poorly in the opening ten minutes, so the first half was quite evenly balanced after that. They executed our plan perfectly, playing every ball in the final line, but both teams had plenty of opportunities after that, and it was fortunate that we were able to score as well.
Giving up a set-piece in the second phase was something I didn’t enjoy. It is very different to lose a game 2-0 at halftime than to give up a goal from a set-piece.
