Arne Slot has described Liverpool’s FA Cup defeat by Plymouth as unacceptable and demanded a response in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Liverpool would go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League with victory at Everton on Wednesday but head into the game under a rare cloud after the Cup shock at Home Park. Slot did not spare his players from further criticism for the performance on Sunday when previewing his first encounter with Everton, and dismissed the idea that exiting the FA Cup could have its merits.
The Liverpool head coach said: “It should have an impact because if you are working at a club like this you should compete for every trophy, so to go out at the second occasion and to lose against Plymouth is not acceptable. As a team, as well as our fans, we are disappointed by that result. Now we have to show a different side of us tomorrow because it wasn’t only the result but the performance that was far from what Liverpool’s standards are as well.”
Slot revealed his Plymouth plans were disrupted not only by Joe Gomez sustaining a repeat hamstring injury and Curtis Jones feeling unwell on the morning of the fixture, but that Darwin Núñez had travelled to Spain in the days before the game to attend the birth of his child. Slot rejected the suggestion that, after a demanding sequence of five league matches in 15 days, Liverpool should welcome a free weekend when the FA Cup fifth round takes place.
“A wise man once said to me that nothing good comes from losing a football game and I completely agree,” said Slot, who could have Trent Alexander-Arnold available for the derby. “We would have definitely preferred to play six games in 18 days or seven in 21 or eight in 24 because that is the schedule we are in.
“Now there is one moment where we have a normal week but that is definitely not what we wanted when we went to Plymouth.”
Slot’s criticism extended to his own team selection at Home Park. Although he defended the amount of changes after the game, he admitted he misjudged the impact that many would have on the team’s performance level.
“There is a big difference coming into a team that has a certain structure and has played so many times together; then one or two players coming in can have a big impact,” he said.
“It’s clear if you change so many players that there is not as much structure and cohesion as the ones that played together. But I assumed, and that’s the wrong interpretation that I made, that these players were good enough to win against Plymouth without having the same cohesion. It still should have been more than enough to win against Plymouth but it wasn’t.”
Slot said the wider shock at the result had not come as a surprise because he felt the same way. “I saw some remarks in the Dutch media because I follow all the news over there. They had some strong words so I assume the English media said similar things. I can only agree. I had the same emotions. It was a very, very disappointing result.”
