Plymouth: English Premier League leader Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup on Sunday as they were at the receiving end of an upset. Second-tier struggler Plymouth recorded a shock win over ‘The Reds’. The loss dashed any hopes of the team to bag quadruple of major trophies as they are going strong in the Champions League, have reached the final of the English League Cup and are leading the points table of the Premier League by six points.
Liverpool fielded a lineup without the likes of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk but had international stars like Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota. Ryan Hardie produced the winner for Plymouth in the 53rd minute as he put a penalty into the back of the net. Plymouth are in the last place of the second-tier championship and recently sacked Wayne Rooney as manager.
“We all came here today with a dream,” Hardie said as quoted by news agency AP, “and we have done it.”
Nunez delivered a header in the stoppage time after 90 minutes which was heading towards the goalpost but Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard produced a stunning save to tip the ball over the post.
A huge upset as @Argyle eliminated the in-form @LFC, with impressive wins from @AVFCOfficial and @Wolves, securing their spots in the #EmiratesFACup fifth round! 🙌
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 9, 2025
Notably, Plymouth became the first club from outside the Premier League to beat a side that is at the top spot in the first division since Wigan eliminated Manchester City in February 2018 according to the stats by Opta.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot appreciated the game by Plymouth stating that they worked incredibly hard to churn out a victory.
“Probably our best part of the game was the last 10 minutes, so that tells you we kept on fighting. But credit to them — good game plan and they worked incredibly hard,” Slot opined.
