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 Sunday’s performance when previewing his first encounter with Everton, and dismissed the idea that exiting the FA Cup could have its merits.
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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. He 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.”
