From a distance, the scene at Acrisure Stadium Friday evening appeared normal enough. All the usual sounds and smells of a Pittsburgh Steelers gameday — legions of fans tailgating, cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs while enjoying themselves in the surrounding parking lots — were easily detectable. But if time of year and day of the week weren’t big enough hints that the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t authors of all the excitement on the North Shore, then the unfamiliar colors visible — a sea of red sprinkled in with a dose of green and white — should have done the trick. The widespread interest in the form of thousands of soccer fans belonged to the English Premier League’s Liverpool Football Club and Real Betis of Spain’s La Liga, which faced off Friday in Pittsburgh for an exhibition match dubbed the "Iron City Showdown.” Playing without several stars such as goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defender Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool cruised to a 1-0 win in front of 42,679 fans to kick off its United States preseason tour. A goal by midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai in the 34th minute was the difference. The win gives new Liverpool coach Arne Slot his first at the helm with the club. Two more U.S. friendlies vs. Arsenal and Manchester United in Philadelphia and South Carolina, respectively, remain to be played next week. "I think there were a few positive things and other things we have improve,” Slot said postgame. "The positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. We only conceded one big chance, and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game. We controlled the game really well.” Liverpool got off to an aggressive start, with midfielder Fabio Carvahlo recording the match’s first shot in the third minute but firing well over the head of Real Betis goalkeeper Adrian San Miguel. Another Liverpool shot, this time off the foot of captain Mohamed Salah near the 15-minute mark, continued his club’s early sustained presence in the attacking third, although it, too, was wide and high. Approaching the 20th minute, Real Betis started to string together some offensive opportunities, recording its first shots of the match, including one that went wide but into the Liverpool side netting. Real Betis had a solid 5-on-3 scoring chance in the 24th minute after a Liverpool turnover, but a shot from captain Nabil Fekir in the penalty area was high. With the match still scoreless, Liverpool faced a concerning development as midfielder Curtis Jones exited with an injury. Trey Nyoni substituted in the 28th minute. Nyoni earned praise from Slot for stepping up in place of Jones, an immediate prognosis for whom was unavailable following the match. "I think (Nyoni) did really well today, but it was only an hour,” Slot said. "He was one of the reasons why he scored the goal … and he was also involved in the biggest (offensive) chance in the second half.” Nyoni, who, at 17, is the youngest player traveling with Liverpool on its U.S. preseason circuit, enjoyed playing in front of a friendly crowd at Acrisure Stadium. "The atmosphere was quite good,” Nyoni said. "A lot of people were supporting the club, so it was good to feel the love.” Shortly thereafter, Liverpool took the lead, scoring the game’s only goal when Salah fed Szoboszlai, who beat a diving San Miguel to the bottom left corner. In the second half, both clubs made changes in net, with Liverpool turning to Viteslav Jaros and Real Betis inserting Fran Vieites. Less than five minutes in, Real Betis was awarded a free kick after a yellow card to Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah, but Fekir’s kick went slightly wide to the left. Liverpool, on the attack again, nearly went up 2-0 in the 66th minute. Harvey Blair had possession and only Vieites to beat, but the Real Betis goalie laid out and made a diving break up of the sequence, with no foul called. One of Real Betis’ better scoring chances came in the 77th minute, with Rodri Rodriguez firing off a close-range shot on Jaros, only to sail it high. With both clubs relying heavily on substitutes throughout the second half, Liverpool’s one-goal lead proved sufficient, as Real Betis was unable to manufacture the equalizer. Real Betis has six more friendlies of its own to play this preseason. On the whole, coach Manuel Pellegrini was generally pleased with how his club sized up against elite competition Friday in Pittsburgh. "Liverpool is one of the best teams not only in England but, obviously, the world,” he said. "I think we started the game thinking not against who we played, but trying to play the way we need to to win every game that we play. I am happy with the game.” Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com. Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free. Get Ad-Free > Sign Up for NotificationsStay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE