LONDON – Liverpool’s quest for a quadruple came to a crashing halt as they were dumped out of the English FA Cup with a 1-0 defeat by second-tier struggler Plymouth, while Aston Villa inflicted another damaging 2-1 defeat on Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou.
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.
Liverpool boss 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 made 10 changes from the side that thrashed Tottenham 4-0 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.
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. “We all came here with a dream and we have done it,” said Hardie.
“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 according to AFP.
“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.”
“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,” Muslic added.
Fresh from their thrashing at Anfield to exit the League Cup Thursday, another chance at ending Spurs’ long wait for silverware was ended for the under-fire Postecoglou.
The writing was on the wall for the visitors after just one minute when goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky let Jacob Ramsey’s shot through his grasp.
Son Heung-min missed a huge chance to level for an injury-ravaged Tottenham when he was denied by Emiliano Martinez before halftime.
Morgan Rogers sealed Spurs’ fate when he blasted in from close range 25 minutes from time.
Villa could then afford the luxury of introducing Marcus Rashford for his first appearance since completing a loan move from Manchester United.
But it was another January signing who made an impressive impact off the bench as Mathys Tel produced a deft finish for his first Tottenham goal in stoppage time.
The consolation was too little, too late for Spurs on the night and potentially for Postecoglou to hold onto his job.
