Liverpool FC have suffered a disgraceful defeat in the FA Cup. The game was decided by a penalty at the bottom-ranked team in the second-tier Championship.
Unchallenged in the Premier League, top of the league in the Champions League and through to the last 16, and in the League Cup final – the season has been extremely promising for Liverpool FC so far. But now their first chance of winning a title has gone – and that after an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at the bottom-of-the-table side in the second-tier Championship, Plymouth Argyle – who have only won one league game in the past three months.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot had sent a B-team onto the field in the southern English port city and did without players such as Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo. Nevertheless, the Reds’ offense was well staffed with Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Federico Chiesa. Although Liverpool had appeared dominant, they did far too little with this control of the game. Instead, the underdog from Plymouth managed to decide the game from the penalty spot.
“We all came here today with a dream…”
Harvey Elliott made a handball in his own penalty area a few minutes after the restart, with Ryan Hardie converting from the spot to make the final score early in the first half (52′). “We all came here today with a dream and we made it come true,” the match-winner later told ITV.
Liverpool had increased the pressure again towards the end of the game and substitute Darwin actually had a great chance to equalize – with goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher also advancing for that free-kick. But Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard prevented the late 1-1 with a brilliant save on the line. “At the end of the day, that’s exactly my job,” the keeper explained.
