Match reportMohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho strike as Liverpool beat Arsenal in USA

Mohamed Salah put the Reds into the lead after 13 minutes of play in the USA, finishing smartly from Harvey Elliott’s first-time through ball.

The No.19 claimed a second assist before half-time, scooping a pass over the Gunners’ back line, allowing Fabio Carvalho to volley in, but Kai Havertz pulled one back with a close-range finish before the break.

Arsenal pressed for an equaliser throughout the second half, but Liverpool were able to record successive wins in the USA, having beat Real Betis last Friday.

• LFCTV GO is the home of all pre-season coverage this summer – watch every pre-season game live, exclusive Inside Training episodes and much more. Subscribe now and get one month FREE

It was the Gunners who made the early running as dusk descended upon the stadium in the state of Pennsylvania.

Gabriel Jesus went close on two occasions in the opening three minutes, first seeing a close-range toe-poke repelled by Caoimhin Kelleher after Gabriel Martinelli had played him into space on the left of the box.

Then the forward charged down an attempted clearance from Liverpool’s goalkeeper, resulting in the ball pinging back towards the net but thankfully rolling just wide.

However, it was the Reds who took the lead with 13 minutes played.

A ball up to halfway from Jarell Quansah was expertly brought under control by Diogo Jota, holding off Oleksandr Zinchenko before nudging it to Elliott.

He slid a perfect pass through to allow Salah to outstrip Gabriel Magalhaes and race into the box before finding the bottom corner beyond Karl Hein with aplomb.

Jota almost latched on to another ball in behind soon after, but on this occasion Arsenal’s ’keeper was able to get there first to avert the danger.

At the other end, Jesus threatened once more when he side-footed wide 10 yards out from a Reiss Nelson pull-back.

Then, on 28 minutes, only some outstanding recovery play from Quansah prevented Arsenal levelling when he intercepted Martinelli’s square pass across the six-yard box, with Jesus waiting to tap into the exposed net.

Back at the other end, Jota cracked a shot against the near post from close range after collecting a lay-off from Elliott.

Nevertheless, a second goal was soon secured – and once again, Elliott was the assister.

With 34 minutes showing on the clock, the No.19 collected the ball from Dominik Szoboszlai in a central position just outside the box. He then scooped a sublime pass over Zinchenko’s head to pick out Carvalho’s dart forward. The dropping ball was dispatched into the net with a first-time volley.

Havertz reduced the arrears for Arsenal before the interval when he swept in from Martin Odegaard’s pass across goal, meaning the teams returned to the dressing rooms with the scoreline poised at 2-1.

The opening exchanges of the second half were a somewhat different affair, with the Gunners seeing much more of the ball, though chances were at something of a premium.

Liverpool did need Kelleher to repel a powerful drive from Fabio Vieira towards the near post and the resulting corner was glanced off target by Gabriel midway through the half.

And, as the game ticked into its final knockings, Arne Slot opted to make seven further changes to his line-up, having already made three during the break.

Chasing a leveller, Eddie Nketiah rolled a low shot wide with seven minutes remaining, while Wataru Endo blocked well from Gabriel on the edge of the area.

Trey Nyoni broke only to see a shot saved by Hein in stoppage time, but Liverpool’s two first-half goals were enough to secure the win in Philadelphia over their Premier League rivals.

Liverpool: Kelleher, Szoboszlai (Blair, 71), Salah (Doak, 71), Jones (Endo, 46), Elliott (Morton, 71), Jota (Nyoni, 46), Tsimikas (Beck, 71), Carvalho (Bajcetic, 71), Van den Berg (Phillips, 71), Quansah (Nallo, 71), Bradley (Stephenson, 46).

Unused substitutes: Jaros, Pitaluga, Davies, Konate, Gravenberch, Chambers, Gordon, McConnell, Koumas.

Attendance: 69,879