Liverpool’s quadruple dreams were dashed on Sunday after Championship strugglers Plymouth 1-0 knocked them out of the FA Cup.
Arne Slot’s resting of his stars earned him his fourth loss in 38 games managing Liverpool. The sole goal Ryan Hardie scored came from the penalty mark. Plymouth, bottom of the English second division, has won two Premier League games following round three triumph over Brentford. From the team that defeated Tottenham 4-0 on Thursday, Slot changed ten times to advance to the League Cup final.
Though missing Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool began Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa in attack. One of the FA Cup’s biggest shocks was lost by the Reds, hence their periphery players lacked impact.
Harvey Elliott handled Darko Gyabi’s flick on 53 minutes, then softly scored the penalty. Caoimhin Kelleher refused Hardie a second time.
To strengthen the front line, Slot replaced Darwin Nunez; yet, late saves by Connor Hazard kept Plymouth in the game. Nine minutes of stoppage time saw the Northern Ireland international save Jota’s effort from the top corner, tip over Jarell Quansah’s header.
