The modest team Plymouth Argyle knocks Liverpool out of the FA Cup
The fourth round of the FA Cup witnessed the biggest shock of the season, as Plymouth Argyle, sitting at the bottom of the Championship (second tier), eliminated Premier League leaders Liverpool with a stunning 1-0 victory.
Plymouth ended Liverpool’s hopes of securing a quadruple this season. The Reds had already booked their place in the EFL Cup final, advanced to the Champions League Round of 16 by topping the unified group, and are leading the Premier League table. This defeat marked only their fourth loss in 38 matches across all competitions this season.
Liverpool became the third major club to exit the FA Cup early, following Arsenal, who fell at home to Manchester United on penalties in the third round, and Chelsea, who were knocked out by Brighton in a 2-1 defeat over the weekend.
The match seemed like an easy task for the historic Reds, especially after their dominant 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup semi-final last Wednesday. They are set to face Newcastle United next month at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London.
For this reason, Liverpool manager Arne Slot opted to rest his key first-team players, with only Irish goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher retaining his spot in the starting lineup. Some of the squad’s biggest stars were not even on the bench, including Egyptian talisman Mohamed Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk, and Dutch forward Cody Gakpo.
This decision backfired, as Liverpool struggled to find their rhythm against a relentless Plymouth side. The underdogs defended bravely after taking the lead in the 53rd minute through a penalty converted by Scottish striker Ryan Hardie.
Momentum Works Against the Reds
Liverpool’s problems worsened when defender Joe Gomez was forced off with an injury just 10 minutes into the match. It wasn’t until the 36th minute that they managed their first shot on target, a long-range effort from James McConnell that was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Conor Hazard.
Hazard put in a heroic performance, making several crucial saves, particularly in the dying minutes when Liverpool threw everything forward in search of an equalizer to take the game into extra time.
In the second half, the referee awarded Plymouth a penalty after Harvey Elliott handled the ball inside the box. Hardie stepped up and confidently slotted home what turned out to be the only goal of the match.
Liverpool pushed forward with everything they had, with Portuguese forward Diogo Jota and Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez both coming close late on. However, Plymouth’s shot-stopper produced a series of brilliant saves in stoppage time to deny them.
Elsewhere in the FA Cup, Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers struck twice within 39 seconds to seal a 2-0 victory over Championship club Blackburn Rovers.
Wolves broke the deadlock when Blackburn’s Todd Cantwell lost possession, allowing Brazilian midfielder João Gomes to fire a weak shot that Hungarian goalkeeper Balázs Tóth misjudged, letting the ball trickle into the net in the 33rd minute.
Less than a minute later, Portuguese full-back Nélson Semedo played a perfect through ball to Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, who broke free and slotted home to secure Wolves’ place in the next round.
Manchester City also progressed, overcoming a first-half setback to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Leyton Orient.
Meanwhile, for the second time in just four days, Tottenham Hotspur crashed out of a local competition, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
Villa stormed into a two-goal lead through Jacob Ramsey (2′) and Morgan Rogers (65′), before French striker Mathys Tel, on loan from Bayern Munich, pulled one back for Spurs in the 92nd minute.
