Liverpool’s FA Cup campaign came to a surprisingly early end in the fourth round on Sunday when they registered a shocking 1-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle, the last-place team in the Championship.
The game’s lone goal came in the 53rd minute when Ryan Hardie converted a penalty after a handball was called on the Reds’ Harvey Elliott.
The scoreline was just one aspect of an underwhelming performance by Liverpool, who took just four shots in the first 70 minutes of the game and were unable do to much with a late flurry of shots. Their paltry attacking output came despite boasting 75% possession over the course of the game, during which they managed just three shots on target, with goalkeeper Conor Hazard mustering a major save on an attempt from Darwin Nunez shortly before the game ended.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot heavily rotated from Thursday’s 4-0 drubbing of Tottenham Hotspur to reach next month’s EFL Cup final. Only goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher started both cup games as Slot made 10 changes, and the youth-focused team was unable to string together a convincing performance despite a favorable draw.
Plymouth have been the worst team in England’s second division so far this season, mustering just five wins in 30 league games and boasting a -34 goal differential as things stand. Much of their struggles came when ex-England international Wayne Rooney was the manager, though he was fired in December with the team in last place. They have not managed to improve much under Rooney’s successor, Miron Muslic, though they are now unbeaten in three with this result and have just two losses in their last nine games across all competitions.
That string of results includes a win in the third round of the FA Cup against another Premier League side in Brentford, who they also beat 1-0 last month courtesy of a goal from Morgan Whittaker in the second half.
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