Plymouth 1-0 Liverpool: Liverpool suffer a shocking exit from the FA Cup as Plymouth Argyle create history

Liverpool are knocked out of the FA Cup win a shocking defeat to Plymouth. (Image credits - FMT, License Details) 

Liverpool FC have suffered a shock exit from the FA Cup after being beaten by Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at Home Park today in the fourth round of the competition. 

The Reds were held to a goalless defeat, with Ryan Hardie’s goal from the spot turning out to be the decisive and the only goal of the game. 

Despite attempting 14 shots, with 4 of them being on target, Arne Slot’s rotated lineup, which did include some big names, did not manage to breach the Plymouth defence. 

It was a historical day in the FA Cup as for the first time ever in the history of the competition, a team standing at the bottom of the EFL Championship points table managed to beat a team standing at the top of the Premier League points table. 

For the hosts, it arguably was their biggest and most iconic win ever as they created history. It is also for the first time in their history that Plymouth will play in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Reaction on tonight's result

In the post-match interview after tonight's defeat, the Liverpool manager expressed his disappointment, stating that the result "hurts.".

Speaking to ITV, Arne Slot said, "It hurts everyone that's involved with Liverpool: fans, me, players. We all wanted to be in this competition for as long as possible." (sic)

He further added, "Good game plan. They deserve all the credit for their performance today. We were not having a very good day, and this result was the outcome." (sic)

Liverpool’s squad depth is still not strong enough

It was a test for Liverpool’s squad depth today as Arne Slot introduced 10 changes to his side that faced Tottenham in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on Thursday. 

While Liverpool’s starting XI did include multiple first-team squad players, namely Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliot, and Caoimhin Kelleher, along with Darwin Nunez coming later on as well, the absence of the regular first-team starters surely appeared to affect them a lot.

With big names such as Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Andrew Robertson, Alexis Mac Allister, etc. not named in the squad for tonight’s fixture, Arne Slot’s system was not able to function effectively, lacking intensity and sharpness.

The absence of first team starters like Salah and Van Dijk cost Liverpool tonight. (Image credits - FMT, License Details) 

Tonight’s disappointing result indicates that Liverpool’s squad depth is still not strong enough to see them through, even against comparatively weaker opponents, despite the club’s heavy emphasis on improving the depth in the squad for the last two seasons.