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A look back at the key moments in Liverpool’s snooze-worthy defeat to Plymouth Argyle in FA Cup action.

Plymouth Argyle 1 - 0 Liverpool

Plymouth Argyle: Hardie (pen) 53’

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Pre-Match

All of the talk this morning is that this could be a classic David vs Goliath match. Plymouth Argyle are undoubtedly the underdogs for this fourth round match of the FA Cup, and even as Liverpool field a second string team, there are almost expectations for Plymouth to somehow find a way past the Premier League leaders. It’s not unfounded confidence, it’s just the “magic of the FA Cup” going around.

Liverpool are the ones that have the opportunity to prove that yes they are the best in the country at this moment, even at unfortunately the detriment to a smaller struggling club like Plymouth. Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa are all starting for the Reds, so hopefully goals come early and the Reds are able to put this match to bed without much fuss.

First Half

Away we go! Plymouth take control early on, getting forward and having a shot go skyward within the first two minutes. The Liverpool squad is substantially different to the ones we’re accustomed to, as Arne Slot chose to protect most of our nailed on starters, but the intent is still there. Unfortunately, it looks like starting Joe Gomez was a little premature, as he goes down and requires taking off within the first ten minutes. He passes the armband to Jota and Isaac Mabaya takes his place.

Plymouth are doing well to press and compact our lads, making it difficult to move the ball around the crowd of green players. Plymouth player Nikola Katic accidentally collides with his captain and loses a tooth (!!) for it, but is somehow back on the pitch to keep going. Wataru Endo sends a lovely ball forward but it’s unable to find a Liverpool player to make an impact. Truthfully, there isn’t a whole lot of spectacular play happening in these first twenty minutes. The home side are organizing well to keep us from pushing as much as we could, and we haven’t been able to get a shot off because of it. (The temptation to scream that Plymouth have the worst defensive record in the Championship is strong).

The problem with making a bunch of changes and fielding players that don’t play that often is that they look unconnected. The hosts have a shot at a penalty when a player gets tangled up with Tsimikas and Quansah in the box and goes down, but the ref doesn’t give it and there’s no VAR in the FA Cup fourth round. James McConnell actually gets the first shot on target for the Reds, but it rolls comfortably into the keeper’s arms and there’s no one there to follow it in when he drops it, letting a Plymouth player move it out of danger.

43 minutes in, with around 3 minutes of stoppage time to come, and we’ve had about two shots from either side in the whole first half. It would be wonderful if a Liverpool player made something happen because even Chiesa hasn’t taken a shot. Sure, there’s a lot of matches that have been played and yet even these players are taking their time trying to get around things.

Second Half

We’re back out for the second half and it doesn’t look like either squad made any changes. That first half was so rough to watch that there were no highlights to show at halftime, but we have to hope that Liverpool pull their thumbs out and are able to make something happen against, again, the team with the worst defensive record in the Championship. I often speak against going into matches overly confident, but come on lads. If there was ever a match to come into with some Premier League leading swagger, this was it.

Things finally get a little spicy when unfortunately Liverpool give up a penalty through Harvey Elliott’s outstretched arm after a corner. Plymouth step up to take it and take the lead after Caoimhin Kelleher goes the wrong way from Ryan Hardie’s shot. There is still hope, as we have plenty of subs to make with Darwin on the bench, and still around 40 minutes left to play. Chiesa looks to finally get a shot towards goal but his effort goes wide.

Darwin Nunez does indeed come on as Slot actually takes off Mabaya to change shape maybe. A little more support in the midfield would’ve been nice as the kids seem to be struggling, but Darwin’s skills in tracking back and moving forward should be helpful as we figure out how to get around this Plymouth squad. Ryan Hardie actually has a second chance as they chase down a free kick but his shot hits the post for a corner.

Liverpool finally get a chance at goal around the 72nd minute when Luis Diaz picks up a pass from Tsimikas, but Plymouth are there to block it from doing anything well. Liverpool win a corner after James McConnell carries the ball into the box and has a shot deflected, and yet again nothing comes of it but at least we’re in the area to make something happen?

What can you say at 83 minutes in, 1-0 down after playing a completely different squad than the one that has been actually winning things? There is no urgency or sense of determination to win, so let’s just call it a chance to free up our schedule and focus on the Premier League and Champions League. Losing in the FA Cup is what Klopp would’ve wanted anyway.

The half is given 9 minutes of stoppage time but even that is unlikely to help Liverpool in any way.

Final Thoughts

Did Liverpool free up their already busy schedule somewhat? Yes. Did we lose in the FA Cup? Also yes. This is what happens when other media people start talking about quadruples again, but there is still a league to be won and we can now put more efforts into that.