Arsenal vs Benfica
Arsenal's Yaya Sanogo (R) and Hector Bellerin (L) celebrate after Joel Campbell (C) scored against Benfica during the Emirates Cup match in LondonReuters

Arsenal crushed Benfica 5-1 in their opening fixture of the Emirates Cup, while Manchester United and Liverpool eased past Real Madrid (3-1) and AC Milan (2-1) in the International Champions Cup.

Yaya Sanogo grabbed the headlines by finding the net four times as the Gunners thumped the Portuguese side 5-1.

Arsenal, who dominated and created plenty of chances early on in the game, broke the deadlock in the 25th minute through Sanogo. Aaron Ramsey, after making an excellent run on the right, whipped the ball in towards the French youngster, who flicked home.

Joel Campbell soon doubled the Gunners' lead with an excellent effort, following a cross from Hector Bellerin.

And as the first half reached its closing stages, Sanogo scored twice in the space of two minutes to increase Arsenal's advantage to 4-0. While an excellent ball from Campbell allowed Sanogo to tap in his second goal, an inch perfect cross from Kieran Gibbs allowed the Frenchman to grab his hat-trick.

Benfica's woes did not end after the break as Sanogo grabbed another goal in the 48th minute, further increasing the gap between the two teams. A strike from Ramsey was palmed away by Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes but the rebound fell to the Frenchman, who made no mistake as he tapped the ball into an empty net.

The visitors managed to get a consolation goal at the hour mark, through Nicolas Gaitan, who found the net with a close range header, following a long throw in from the right.

Manchester United vs Real Madrid
Manchester United players celebrate the goal of midfielder Ashley Young (18) during the first half against Real Madrid at Michigan StadiumReuters

Meanwhile, United maintained their excellent pre-season form under new boss Louis van Gaal with a convincing 3-1 win over Madrid in their final group fixture of the International Champions Cup.

A brace from Ashley Young, coupled with a late strike from Javier Hernandez, proved too much for Madrid, who were only able to score one - thanks to a Gareth Bale penalty.

The Red Devils broke the deadlock in the 21st minute through Young, following some excellent team play consisting of more than 20 passes.

But the Blancos were level six minutes later, after United conceded a penalty following some poor defending from youngster Michael Keane, who brought down Bale in the box. The Welshman stepped up and eased the ball past David de Gea.

United soon responded to Bale's penalty as they went ahead in the 37th minute through Young again. Iker Casillas misjudged Young's cross and the ball ended up in the back of the net.

The European Champions came close to getting the equaliser in the early stages of the second half, when Luke Shaw gave away a free-kick in a very dangerous position. United were very lucky as Bale's excellent free-kick thundered against the post.

More chances followed for both sides as Pepe missed a golden opportunity at the hour mark, before Casillas kept out a close-range strike from Hernandez.

But with 10 minutes remaining, the Mexican striker secured the Red Devils' place in the final of the pre-season competition by finding the net from Shinji Kagawa's back-post cross.

AC Milan vs Liverpool
Liverpool midfielder Suso (30) celebrates with teammates after the goal against AC Milan in a friendly at Bank of America Stadium.Reuters

Elsewhere, Liverpool also secured a place in the final of the International Champions Cup, following a comfortable 2-0 win over AC Milan in their last group fixture.

Strikes from Joe Allen and Suso proved to be enough against the Italian side, who have been very poor in the pre-season competition.

The Reds broke the deadlock in the 17th minute through Allen. The Welshman hit the post with his first attempt and Raheem Sterling forced a save out of Christian Abbiati from the rebound. The ball then fell to Allen, who tapped into an empty net.

Milan then conceded a penalty after Adil Rami brought down Sterling in the box. Rickie Lambert stepped up but his weak effort was easily kept out by Abbiati.

Milan brought on Mario Balotelli after the break to bolster their attack. But the Rossoneri failed to create any chances up until the 76th minute, when M'Baye Niang, after receiving the ball from Keisuke Honda, tested Mignolet with a good effort.

Despite Milan's desperate attempts to score the leveller, it was Liverpool who again found the net in the 90th minute. Suso, after collecting a pass from Philippe Coutinho, moved into the area before slotting the ball past Abbiati.

Liverpool and United will meet each other in the final on Monday.