Plymouth 1-0 Liverpool: Arne Slot's side crash out of the FA Cup vs bottom of the Championship after Ryan Hardie penalty

Match report as Plymouth Argyle secured a shock victory against Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round; Ryan Hardie's penalty booked Plymouth's spot in the fifth round; Plymouth currently sit bottom of the Championship while Liverpool are top of the Premier League

Monday 10 February 2025 10:37, UK

Plymouth Argyle caused a major upset in the FA Cup after securing a 1-0 win against Arne Slot's Liverpool side to end their hopes of securing the trophy for an eighth time.

The Liverpool boss made 10 changes to the team that beat Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and the lack of cohesion showed after accumulating just 0.44 xG from open play against bottom-of-the-Championship Argyle; their lowest tally since Slot took charge at Anfield.

Liverpool were consistently thwarted by Plymouth on the afternoon, with the hosts eventually getting their reward for an impressive performance at Home Park.

The ball cannoned off Harvey Elliott's arms, which were raised well above his head, inside the area and Ryan Hardie made no mistake from the penalty spot to give his side a deserved lead early in the second half.

It was a disjointed performance from start to finish from Liverpool, who were not even boosted by the effervescent talents of Darwin Nunez off the bench.

The forward replaced debutant Isaac Mabaya shortly after the opener, 47 minutes into his debut having come on for the injured Joe Gomez.

Despite his arrival, Liverpool continued to lack any real threat due to a combination of their poor attacking output and a stoic defensive performance from the likes of Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic.

In fact, it took until the dying embers of the tie for the Reds to finally build on their lone shot on target, with the final figure coming in at three following two late saves from Conor Hazard to keep the clean sheet intact.

Plymouth now book their place in the fifth-round of England's oldest club competition, while all attention for Slot and his players now turns to the Merseyside derby on Wednesday evening.

Slot's team selection was 'irresponsible'

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:

As the clock ticked down with Liverpool offering no spark and creative edge, it was surely time to unleash the likes of Mohamed Salah from the bench.

But Salah wasn't there.

Neither was Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch. In-form first-team players that would have made Plymouth sweat.

Instead Arne Slot could only turn to debutants Isaac Mabaya and Trent Kone-Doherty - and the erratic Darwin Nunez.

Slot has got little, if anything wrong, in his time in the Liverpool hotseat but this was a clear underestimation of the challenge ahead. Name a freshened-up team, of course, but to not have the big guns in reserve for any emergencies was just plain irresponsible in a competition that Liverpool has serious tradition of taking seriously.

Slot disrespected the competition, did Plymouth's team talk for them and the famous old competition delivered him a harsh lesson.

Slot: FA Cup exit hurts everyone

Liverpool boss Arne Slot speaking to ITV:

"Great game from Plymouth. Good gameplan and they deserve all the credit. We were not having a very good day. A result like this is the outcome.

"I can't say the boys didn't fight, both teams barely created a chance and then it was a penalty. In a game like this, it is up to one moment. That moment was for them and they deserve it.

"I think they were able to do better but it's a system and a way of playing which is hard to create against. I wasn't surprised. When we had the ball they were really aggressive.

"Not easy to create especially if a team has not played together all the time. It hurts everyone. We were all wanting to be in this competition for as long as possible.

"They kept on fighting until the last second, it wasn't a work rate problem but they couldn't find chances. We have to be more creative."

Muslic 'speechless' after beating Liverpool

Plymouth boss Miron Muslic speaking to ITV:

"Oh, I'm speechless, and normally they tell me I'm eloquent! It's a big moment, day for us.

"Another chapter in Argyle's history. Showing this performance, desire and joy to defend against Liverpool, who will be on you. The lads did it fantastic today.

"A big moment and I think I will realise that when I go back to my apartment and have a moment. It's the game we love, and those moments sometimes as coach we miss. I also want to enjoy it."