Liverpool shockingly lost to lower league club in FA Cup

Plymouth are a club with a rich tradition, founded in 1886, but mainly play in the lower leagues. Earlier this year, they made headlines when they sacked English football legend Wayne Rooney and appointed Ryan Lowe.

Less than two weeks after the decision, Plymouth caused a stir when they beat Premier League club Brentford 1-0 in the third round of the FA Cup. They created an even bigger shock at Home Park on February 9.

The historic moment came early in the second half, when Harvey Elliott handled the ball in the box, giving the home side a penalty. From the 11m mark, striker number 9 Ryan Hardie fired a low shot to the left corner, contrary to goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher's prediction. A few minutes later, Hardie almost scored twice with a close-range shot, but Kelleher made a miraculous save with his toes.

But Hardie’s penalty was enough to give Plymouth their first win over Liverpool since 1956, 69 years ago. Since November 2024, Plymouth have won as many Premier League games against Brentford and Liverpool as they have in the Championship (against Portsmouth and West Brom).

For the fourth time in FA Cup history, the Premier League leaders have been eliminated by a lower-league side. The previous examples include Man City losing to Wigan in 2018, Chelsea losing to Bradford in 2015 and Leeds losing to Cardiff in 2002.

Coach Arne Slot went into the match full of confidence, making 10 changes to the starting lineup from the 4-0 win over Tottenham in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final a few days ago, with goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher the only one to keep his starting position.

Even though Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk or Dominik Szoboszlai are rested, Liverpool are still rated much higher with stars like Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota or Federico Chiesa.

But the reserves were disjointed, enjoying 75% possession but only four shots on target. Liverpool's expected goals (xG) from open play was 0.44 - their worst under Slot.

After falling behind, the Dutch coach brought on Darwin Nunez - the only notable first-team star on the bench - to the pitch. Liverpool put on heavy pressure late in the game, but goalkeeper Conor Hazard made a series of brilliant saves to protect Plymouth's result.

The 0-1 defeat shattered Liverpool's dream of winning four trophies. For the rest of the season, Slot and his team will focus on competing in the two main arenas, the Champions League and the Premier League, in addition to carefully preparing for the League Cup final against Newcastle at Wembley Stadium on March 16.