Liverpool and Arsenal played a pre-season friendly on the same night in the United States, with the Reds winning 2-1 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Early goals from Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho put Arne Slott's side two up in the first half, while Kai Havertz pulled one back for the Gunners just before the break.
Mikel Arteta's men couldn't find an equalizer and lost in Philadelphia, but both outfits managed to get some good minutes in the legs of some key players ahead of the new campaign.
Here are four takeaways from Wednesday night's showdown.
Arsenal established themselves as the most defensive team in the Premier League during the second half of the 2023/24 season.
Arteta has built a formidable backline that you won't want to get on the wrong side of, boasting defenders and several six-foot midfielders to do the dirty work for his side.
But two key members of that team – William Saliba and Declan Rice – are on holiday, and the boy has appeared to feature against Liverpool. It must have come as a shock to Gunners fans to see their team back and forth to protect open spaces rather than calmly closing those spaces.
And yes, it is a big shock that Arsenal don't look good without their two best players, but show their weakness when you remove those figures from the picture. The signing of Ricardo Calafiori should give them more flexibility and depth, at the very least.
For a few years now, Harvey Elliott has looked home when he started for Liverpool.
The next step is to nail down a place in the starting XI, and he wasted no time trying to impress Slot this summer.
After playing as a withdrawn striker in their opening trip to Real Betis, Elliott returned to top form here, coming up with the assists for both of Liverpool's goals – including Fabio Carvalho's superb second.
At the age of 21, Elliott falls into the category of a bright prospect with plenty of top-flight experience under his belt, and a player developer known as Slot should relish the opportunity to mold him into a true Premier League star.
It is a known and open secret that Liverpool are looking at the transfer market for new options for defenders.
But the Reds' management must ensure that whoever they target is no better than some of the younger and more promising options already on their books.
Jarell Quansah is relishing this opportunity to first stake his claim in the slot, while Sepp van den Berg may be worth keeping rather than selling if he can fill in seamlessly.
If Liverpool can get a central defender to come in and be big right away, they should definitely consider such a move. There are still many other considerations regarding the next generation.
Speaking of the next generation, Liverpool and Arsenal are well stocked for years to come.
The slot has granted fans' wishes to see more of Trey Nyoni on their tour, and Arteta has given extended opportunities to Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly of late.
Pre-season friendlies while the senior players are on a luxury annual break will always allow the kids to watch, given. That doesn't mean these aren't talented players who deserve these minutes, though.
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