Arne Slot’s seamless transition from Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager has showcased his tactical brilliance and adaptability. However, on a wild afternoon in Devon, he was handed a brutal lesson in one of football’s oldest truths: never take the FA Cup lightly.
Plymouth Argyle, rock-bottom in the Championship, delivered a resounding reminder of the competition’s enduring magic by stunning the Premier League leaders with a fourth-round triumph. For Slot, this was the first real misstep in what has otherwise been a stellar start at Anfield—a warning that underestimating the FA Cup comes at a cost.
Slot’s decision to make ten changes to his starting XI sent a clear message: he believed Liverpool’s quality would be enough to handle a struggling Championship side. Yet the outcome was nothing short of embarrassment. Despite boasting seasoned internationals like Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa in attack, Liverpool looked lackluster, treating the match more like an inconvenience than an FA Cup battle. Their performance was flat, uninspired, and ultimately, punished. Perhaps more damning was Slot’s bench. Missing were key figures like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Alex Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo, and Andrew Robertson—players who could have bailed Liverpool out had things gone awry. And go awry they did—spectacularly.
The tone was set early when Joe Gomez, Liverpool’s stand-in captain, suffered an injury and was replaced by 20-year-old Isaac Mabaya. The Reds’ lack of cohesion only made it harder for their younger players, like Trey Nyoni, to find their footing. Plymouth, sensing vulnerability, seized their moment. Harvey Elliott’s 52nd-minute handball gifted Plymouth a golden opportunity, and Ryan Hardie made no mistake from the penalty spot, hammering home with authority. Moments later, Liverpool’s backup keeper Caoimhin Kelleher kept Hardie from doubling the lead, but the damage was done.
With new manager Miron Muslic injecting belief into his side after Wayne Rooney’s sacking, Plymouth looked revitalized. Home Park was electric, the ‘Green Army’ roaring their side on from hours before kickoff to the final whistle. Liverpool mounted a late surge, but Plymouth’s defense, marshaled by Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov, stood firm. Keeper Conor Hazard cemented his place as a local hero, producing stunning saves to deny Jota and substitute Darwin Nunez.
The home crowd held its breath when nine minutes of stoppage time were announced, but Plymouth held firm. It was their day—a moment of FA Cup folklore. The match even had its share of battlefield grit—Katic lost a front tooth after a collision with a teammate but played on. That kind of sacrifice is exactly what Muslic demands as Plymouth fights for Championship survival—and now, further FA Cup glory.
Slot was gracious in defeat, acknowledging Plymouth’s deserved victory: “Great game from Plymouth. Good game plan. They deserve all credit for the performance. We were not having a very good day, and a result like this is the outcome. We expected better, but credit must go to them.”
Plymouth became the first lower-league side to knock out the Premier League leaders since Wigan stunned Manchester City in 2018. In fact, the last time Liverpool suffered such an upset while topping the league was in January 1984 against Brighton. Giant-killing acts may be rarer in modern football, but Plymouth’s triumph is a stirring reminder of the FA Cup’s enduring magic. Moments like these define the competition—and serve as a warning to those who dare take it for granted.
