Liverpool were eliminated from the FA Cup by Championship strugglers Plymouth 1-0 on Sunday, ending their quadruple hopes. Arne Slot’s resting of his stars cost him his fourth loss in 38 games as Liverpool manager. Ryan Hardie scored the only goal from the penalty spot. Plymouth are bottom of the English second tier but have won two Premier League games after beating Brentford in round three.
Slot made 10 changes from the team that beat Tottenham 4-0 on Thursday to reach the League Cup final. Liverpool started Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa in attack despite missing Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Cody Gakpo.
As the Reds lost one of the FA Cup’s biggest surprises, their peripheral players failed to impress. On 53 minutes, Harvey Elliott handled Darko Gyabi’s flick and Hardie calmly scored the penalty. Hardie was denied a second time by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Slot substituted Darwin Nunez to boost the front line, but Connor Hazard’s late saves kept Plymouth in the game. The Northern Ireland international saved Jota’s shot from the top corner and tipped over Jarell Quansah’s header in nine minutes of stoppage time.
