Plymouth Argyle have stunned Liverpool to cause a huge upset in the FA Cup’s fourth round.
Ryan Hardie’s 53rd-minute penalty earned The Pilgrims a 1-0 win at Home Park, as the Championship’s bottom club eliminated the Premier League leaders in Devon.
ARGYLE BEAT THE PREMIER LEAGUE LEADERS! 💚 pic.twitter.com/Pa7ebZPNkb
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) February 9, 2025
Plymouth headed into the contest with the second-tier’s worst defensive record but held firm to frustrate Liverpool and claim a stunning win.
Nikola Katic led the charge with a mammoth 17 clearances from centre-back, while Conor Hazard made brilliant late saves from Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.
Arne Slot chose to rotate his side for the contest with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo not included in the match day squad.
An inexperienced side struggled to get to grips with the game as a well-drilled and hard-working Plymouth team came out on top. It’s just a fourth defeat of the campaign for Liverpool in all competitions and ends dreams of an unprecedented quadruple.
Plymouth goalscorer Hardie said the result was a ‘dream’ come true for the Championship side.
“We all came here today with a dream and we have done it. I don’t know what to say,” he said to ITV.
On his penalty: “There is obviously a lot of pressure. It is about picking your side, and I committed to it.”
Midfielder Callum Wright – a boyhood Liverpool fan – admitted it was an ‘insane’ feeling to cause a huge FA Cup upset.
“(By) Sticking together,” he said when asked how Plymouth upset the odds.
“Liverpool didn’t break through us. The gaffer has brought them [Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov] in to strengthen us until the end of the season and they are doing that.
“I started to get nervous, but as soon as we were 1-0 up we had to stick with it. Insane. A dream come true to play them and beat them.”
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