LONDON – English Premier League top six teams had mixed results in Saturday’s pre-season friendly games, as they prepare for the start of the new season.
Title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal both picked up wins on the day but Tottenham, which is expected to be among the leaders, were humbled by Girona.
At the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Arsenal wrapped up their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 win over Italian side Lazio.
Goals on either side of 45 minutes by Reiss Nelson (18′) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (64′) secured the win for Unai Emery’s side, as new summer signings Lucas Torreira and Stephan Lichtsteiner were both handed debuts.
The victory on Saturday sees Arsenal ending the pre-season fixtures without a defeat in normal time.
New manager Emery now turns his attention to getting his side ready for a tough Premier League opener against defending champions Manchester City next Sunday.
At Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Liverpool battered another Serie A side, Napoli 5-0, as manager Jurgen Klopp handed record signing goalkeeper Alisson his debut.
Alisson, the Brazilian No. 1 at the 2018 World Cup, had a pretty quiet outing, besides needing to keep out a shot from Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne.
The Reds made a positive start when James Milner (5′) and Georginio Wijnaldum (9′) netted inside of the opening 10th minute to give the men from Anfield a 2-0 lead heading into the first half break.
After the interval, Mohamed Salah, Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno also scored for Liverpool in the comfortable win.
Liverpool will wrap up their pre-season schedule at home against another Serie A side, Torino on Tuesday before opening their Premier League campaign against West Ham on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Tottenham suffered a 4-1 setback against La Liga side Girona in their last pre-season outing at Municipal de Montilivi.
Spurs grabbed the lead in the 13th minute through a superb free kick by Lucas Moura, but Girona replied with goals from Juan Pedro López (22′) and Anthony Lozano (34′) to give the home side the lead at halftime.
Following the break, the Spanish side netted twice again with Cristian Portu scoring in the 53rd minute and Aleix García Serrano getting on the scoresheet in the 61st.
Tottenham begin their English Premier League campaign against Newcastle next Saturday.
