Liverpool was knocked out of the FA Cup, but Arne Slot may have given himself an advantage. In the big perspective, he’s right to be tranquil.
Arne Slot has lost just four games since taking over for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. It is an impressive record for any head coach, let alone one taking on such a demanding task.
First, his team was defeated at home by Nottingham Forest — a 1-0 loss in September that now appears significantly less shocking given Nuno Espirito Santo’s team’s recent performance — but if the Reds win at Everton this midweek, they could move nine points clear with 14 games remaining in the Premier League. The only loss at Anfield has had little impact.
Second, Liverpool fell to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Winning 4-0 in the second leg made little difference. Then it fell 3-2 to PSV in the Champions League. Finishing first in the European standings made little effect.
How do you judge the most recent loss? Plymouth Argyle, a merited winner on the day, achieved an unusual triumph not just against Liverpool but also in the context of its season: it is currently bottom of the Championship and did not expect to progress.
However, for the first time under Slot, Liverpool may have lost a meaningful match. The Reds will now be unable to win the FA Cup, and thus the quadruple, putting an end to a discourse that had only begun.
However, in the grand scheme of things, Plymouth 1-0 Liverpool may be lumped in with the other defeats. If Liverpool wins at Everton on Wednesday, when Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk return to the squad, the FA Cup exit will be quickly forgotten.
If the Reds win the Carabao Cup next month and make the most of their Premier League position — something Slot could not have predicted when he took over last summer — everything will be forgotten. And, it must be noted, with no more FA Cup ties on the horizon, Liverpool has a greater chance in each of the other three tournaments.
That does not mean Liverpool will not have to deal with the disappointment of being eliminated in the near future. Some players, like as James McConnell, Trey Nyoni, and Rio Ngumoha, who was an unused replacement at Home Park, must also consider where their next senior minutes will come from.
The goal for Liverpool as a club, however, is to win as much silverware as possible. Exiting one tournament that it could have won may not appear to be a wise strategy, but it may prove useful in the long run.
That presumably explains why Slot was so comfortable at his post-match press conference. He admitted that his team didn’t execute well in a difficult game and that Harvey Elliott’s penalty was accurate — yet he never seemed furious.
“The only thing I was happy about is that the boys kept on fighting for 100 minutes and probably the best part of our game were the last 10 minutes,” he told me. “So, that means they kept battling.
“But credit to Plymouth; they had an excellent game plan, worked extremely hard, and received a penalty that was merited, since it was a clear penalty; a correct judgment. The goalkeeper made a few fantastic stops in the end, but we didn’t produce much.”
Slot was definitely disappointed with his loss. But he wasn’t particularly bothered by it — and he certainly wasn’t upset or put under strain by the defeat, as Ange Postecoglou was just a few hours later.
The truth is that, while Slot has lost four times this season, only the Nottingham Forest loss will sting – and even that may be inconsequential in the end. So far, his team has chosen advantageous times to lose. By the end of May, this may be another example to include on the list.
