Plymouth Argyle reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for just the fifth time in their history following this shock defeat of Premier League leaders Liverpool at Home Park on Sunday.
Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty was the difference, as Arne Slot suffered just his fourth competitive defeat at Liverpool manager in 38 matches.
It was much-changed Liverpool side with many regular first-teamers missing – including Mohamed Salah – but this was still a big surprise, considering Plymouth currently sit bottom of the Championship table.
Plymouth had already knocked out Premier League opposition this season after beating Brentford 1-0 away in the third round, and they replicated this scoreline again at Home Park in this tie. The only goal came from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute after Harvey Elliott’s handball. Hardie slammed the ball past Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher to follow up his brace against West Brom in his last appearance.
Before today, the team starting the day top of the Premier League had only been eliminated from the FA Cup on three occasions previously by a side from outside the top-flight – Leeds against Cardiff in 2001-02, Chelsea against Bradford in 2014-15 and Man City against Wigan in 2017-18. That tally is now four after this exceptional victory for Plymouth.
Liverpool’s dream of the quadruple in Slot’s first season at the club is over, with their attention now turning to Wednesday night’s rearranged Premier League Merseyside derby against Everton.