Liverpool ‘hurt’ by shock FA Cup exit, says Arne Slot
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Plymouth Argyle's Ryan Hardie celebrates after scoring their winner in the 1-0 FA Cup triumph over Liverpool with Callum Wright and Adam Randell at Home Park on Feb 9.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Liverpool boss Arne Slot said his side’s shock FA Cup exit to second-tier Plymouth Argyle on Feb 9 was a setback after a near flawless start to his reign.
The Reds had been on course for a quadruple of trophies before they travelled to Plymouth, who sit bottom of the Championship, but came unstuck with a 1-0 loss at Home Park as Slot paid a heavy price for making wholesale changes.
He retained only goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from the side that thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 on Feb 6 to reach the League Cup final and left Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk out of his squad.
The English 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 to 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.
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. 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.”
Meanwhile, Plymouth’s “boring” boss Miron Muslic celebrated his side’s stunning win by “eating some nachos and drinking a Fanta”.
“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 rewatch 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.
“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 Bromwich Albion on Feb 1 was their first in the Championship since November. AFP
