FA Cup 2024-25: Liverpool knocked out as Plymouth claims shock scalp

FA Cup 2024-25: Liverpool knocked out as Plymouth claims shock scalp

Liverpool suffered a humiliating FA Cup exit as Championship struggler Plymouth ended its quadruple bid with a stunning 1-0 win in the fourth round on Sunday.

Arne Slot’s decision to field a weakened Liverpool team came back to haunt him, with Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty sealing Plymouth’s epic upset at Home Park.

Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson and Cody Gakpo were among the stars rested as Slot made 10 changes from the team that thrashed Tottenham 4-0 in the League Cup semifinal second leg on Thursday.

In a remarkably successful first season in charge of Liverpool, it was a rare blunder by the former Feyenoord boss.

Liverpool’s fourth defeat in all competitions this season was just the third time the Premier League leader had failed to score under Slot.

It was only the fourth time that a team top of the Premier League had been eliminated from the FA Cup by a lower division club.

Now Liverpool must shake off the embarrassment of its miserable trip to the west country in time for the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park against Everton on Wednesday.

There is little need for Liverpool to panic as a win over Everton would move it nine points clear of second-placed Arsenal in the title race.

The Reds are also through to the Champions League last 16 and will face Newcastle in the League Cup final in March.

Masterminding a famous victory over Liverpool while fighting to haul Plymouth off the bottom of the Championship was no hardship for Argyle manager Miron Muslic.

Muslic — hired by Plymouth to replace the sacked Wayne Rooney in January — was forced to move to Austria aged nine after escaping his home town of Bihac after it fell under siege by Serbian forces in 1992.

Plymouth had already beaten Premier League side Brentford in the third round, but its victory against West Brom last weekend was its first in the league since November.

In the circumstances, Plymouth’s superb performance will rank as one of the FA Cup’s greatest giant-killings.

Under a wintry sun by the Devon coast, Liverpool’s under-strength line-up got even weaker when Joe Gomez limped off injured early in the first half.

Liverpool struggled to find any momentum as gritty Plymouth worked tirelessly to keep it at bay.

It took until the 36th minute for Liverpool to muster a shot on target when James McConnell’s long-range drive was repelled by Conor Hazard.

Slot wore an exasperated expression that summed up Liverpool’s lethargy even before Darko Gyabi’s overhead kick was blocked by Harvey Elliott’s raised arm in the 54th minute.

It was a clear penalty and Hardie kept his composure to send Caoimhin Kelleher the wrong way from the spot.

Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez were denied by fine saves from Hazard in stoppage-time as Home Park erupted in celebration of an astonishing result.