“A big disappointment”- Arne Slot reacts to Liverpool’s shocking FA Cup exit

Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat on Sunday against Championship strugglers Plymouth hurled waves of shock and dismay among fans of European football. This also marked Liverpool’s most unorthodox exit from the FA Cup. Post this result, the manager, Arne Slot, was criticized for his selection of a weakened lineup, which in turn ended Liverpool’s quest for a quadruple at home park.

Dropping the likes of Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Robertson, and Cody Gakpo were among the big exclusions that marked the highlight of Slot’s 10-man changed starting 11 from the team that thrashed Tottenham 4-0 in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final last Thursday. This loss for Liverpool marked only the fourth such incident in the history of the FA Cup that a team from the top tier has been knocked out by a lower-division club.

"We expected to play a better game than this"- Arne Slot 

Undoubtedly this is a rare but humiliating blunder from the former Feyenoord boss. After the shocking loss, Slot admitted to his mistakes and also claimed that a fourth-round defeat for such a team with mammoth success in recent times hurts, and he also claimed that he expected the rotated new side to perform better in front of Plymouth. 

Despite the change in 11, Slot included the likes of international greats like Luis Diaz, Federico Chiesa, and Diogo Jota. However, ultimately the Reds failed to break their Championship opponents, and with a disappointing show, had just 4 shots at goal. However, Slot gave some blame to the Liverpool side as well, saying that he had to admit that the opposition team, Plymouth, played better football.

Especially in a game devoid of many chances, one has to grab anything that comes their way, and according to Slot, that is exactly what Plymouth did. 

"I think (the players here today) are able to do better, but this is a playing style that is quite hard to create your chances against, which is what we saw today. But we expected to play a better game than this, but we give credit to Plymouth as well,” said Slot, backing his decision to play with a fresh pair of legs.

Liverpool still remains a much-praised side in the Premier League as they retain the top spot, while they have also finished at the top of their group in the Champions League. Recently, last week, with a stellar show against PL rivals Tottenham, Liverpool registered themselves into the finals of the Carabao Cup, which they look to retain as the defending champions against a seemingly weaker opponent, Newcastle.