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Liverpool sink Spurs in run to final | 02:05
Liverpool’s quest for a quadruple came to a crashing halt on Sunday (Monday AEDT) as they were dumped out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 defeat by Championship strugglers Plymouth.
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Ryan Hardie scored the only goal from the penalty spot as Arne Slot was made to pay for resting his star names as he suffered just a fourth defeat in 38 games as Liverpool boss.
Plymouth sit rock bottom of the English second tier, but have now taken two Premier League scalps on their way into round five after winning at Brentford in round three.
“We all came here today with a dream and we have done it,” said Hardie. Slot made 10 changes from the side that thrashed Tottenham 4-0 on Thursday to reach the League Cup final.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo were among those left completely out the squad, but Liverpool still started with Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa in attack.
Yet, the Reds’ fringe players did little to make their case for more playing time as they succumbed to one of the FA Cup’s great shocks.
“We were not having a very good day. A result like this is the outcome,” said Slot.
“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.”
Hardie kept his cool to drill home the penalty after Harvey Elliott handled Darko Gyabi’s flick on 53 minutes.
Ryan Hardie of Plymouth Argyle scores his team’s shock winner.Source: Getty ImagesMoments later it needed a fine save from Caoimhin Kelleher to deny Hardie a second.
Slot threw on Darwin Nunez to add more firepower to the forward line, but Plymouth stood strong thanks to a pair of stunning late saves from Connor Hazard.
Jota’s strike that was headed for the top corner was clawed away by the Northern Ireland international before he tipped over Nunez’s header deep into nine minutes of stoppage time.
“I’m speechless, and normally they tell me I’m eloquent! It’s a big moment, day for us,” said Plymouth boss Miron Muslic, who replaced the sacked Wayne Rooney last month.
“It’s a magical day for us. I told the lads in the locker room to enjoy it.”
Ryan Hardie celebrates with his son.Source: AFPSLOT SHOCK
Liverpool boss Arne Slot said his side’s shock FA Cup exit to second-tier Plymouth was a setback after a near flawless start to his reign in charge.
The Reds had been on course for a quadruple of trophies before they travelled to Argyle, who sit bottom of the Championship, but came unstuck at Home Park as Slot paid a heavy price for making wholesale changes.
The Dutchman retained only goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from the side that thrashed Tottenham 4-0 on Thursday to reach the League Cup final and left Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk out of his a squad entirely.
The Premier League leaders should still have had enough to progress as Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa started up front, while Darwin Nunez was introduced in a bid rescue the game in the second half.
“We were not having a very good day. A result like this is the outcome,” said Slot.
“It hurts everyone that is involved with Liverpool – fans, me players. We were all wanting to be in this competition for as long as possible and when you go out in the second possible game, that’s a setback.”
The game was decided by Ryan Hardie’s penalty eight minutes into the second half after Harvey Elliott handled inside the box.
Diogo Jota and Nunez forced Conor Hazard into late saves but Plymouth held out for one of the great all-time FA Cup upsets.
“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,” added Slot.
“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.”
Arne Slot speaks to the media losing to Plymouth.Source: AFPNACHOS AND FANTA
Plymouth’s “boring” boss Miron Muslic celebrated his side’s stunning FA Cup humiliation of Liverpool by “eating some nachos and drinking a Fanta”.
Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty gave the Championship’s bottom club an astonishing 1-0 victory over the Premier League leaders at Home Park on Sunday.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot named a reserve team for the fourth round tie, resting stars including Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Plymouth took full advantage to end Liverpool’s quadruple bid with one of the FA Cup’s more memorable giant-killings.
But the low-key Muslic opted against celebrating with alcohol. “Normally I’m very good in my words and eloquent, but I’m a little bit speechless,” said Muslic, who succeeded the sacked Wayne Rooney as Pilgrims manager in January.
“It’s a day for Argyle, a day for Plymouth, a day for the ‘Green Army’. They deserve it and I want them to give it celebrations their all.
“I will go home and re-watch the game, eat some Nachos and drink a Fanta. It’s very boring for me.”
Masterminding a famous victory over Liverpool while fighting to haul Plymouth off the bottom of the Championship was no hardship for Muslic, who was a refugee from war-torn Bosnia as a child.
Muslic was forced to move to Austria aged nine, escaping his home town of Bihac after it fell under siege by Serbian forces in 1992.
Plymouth’s Bosnian-born Austrian head coach Miron Muslic soaks up victory.Source: AFP“I’m very emotional because I realised the task and the opponent. It’s the biggest moment so far in my coaching career, no doubt, because it’s the FA Cup and Liverpool,” he said.
“But the biggest moment will be staying up in the Championship. This is my goal, this is what I have in my mind and my soul.”
Plymouth had already beaten Premier League side Brentford in the third round, but their victory against West Brom last weekend was their first in the league since November.
They subdued Liverpool’s understudies with a gritty display before snatching the lead when Hardie converted from the spot after Harvey Elliott handled Darko Gyabi’s overhead kick.
Plymouth fans celebrate their shock win over Liverpool.Source: AFPPlymouth had to withstand nine minutes of stoppage-time during which Conor Hazard made superb saves to deny Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.
“We knew we would have a lot of moments to defend and it was a huge task to keep them away from the goal,” Muslic said.
“I watched them a couple of nights ago against Tottenham and the wave of Liverpool was unstoppable.
“Liverpool made changes but I said to the players there was nothing to be afraid of, nothing to lose and everything to win.
“We played like this and we have added another part in the history of Argyle that nobody can take away from us.”
